


So Let Us Be, You and I

by roserelease



Series: Mermaid/Sea Witch AU [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Anxiety, Anxious Katsuki Yuuri, Demisexual Katsuki Yuuri, Depressed Victor Nikiforov, Depression, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mermaid!Viktor, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Panic Attacks, Pining Katsuki Yuuri, Pining Victor Nikiforov, Rating May Change, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, Thirsty Victor Nikiforov, background Mila/Sara - Freeform, background christope/mystery man, jellyfish!sara, mantaray!minako, mermaid au, mermaid!lilia, mermaid!yakov, narwhal!celestino, octopus!phichit, octopus!yuuri, sea horse!christophe, sea witch!phichit, sea witch!sara, sea witch!yuuri, seawitch au, threshershark!otabek, tigershark!yurio, whaleshark!JJ
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-27 12:54:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 60,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14425842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roserelease/pseuds/roserelease
Summary: Viktor is unable to forget about Yuuri after a magical night spent together, so he takes the only logical step a pining mermaid prince can make: make a deal with the royal Sea Witch in order to find his beloved. Unfortunately for Viktor, love and magic are not a game, especially when the object of ones affections is determined not to play.[Sequel to "I Want Something Just Like This"][Fanfic with accompanying art]





	1. I would do anything to have you by my side

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I'm sorry this took so long to finish, I took my time with this and wanted to make it as good as possible for you. This AU means a lot to me and I'm very excited to continue this story. I have so many things planned, hehehe. This is gonna be a pretty long fic, if I have anything to say about it. Which I do. /eyebrow waggle
> 
> If you haven't read "I Want Something Just Like This," I urge you to head on over there and check that out first because this first chapter/story in general relies on prior knowledge. It's a 38 page comic and is a pretty easy/light read, so it won't take long at all. I'd also suggest checking out "But If I Could Be Like You," though that doesn't need to be immediately read as components from that story won't come into play for quite a while off.
> 
> I feel I should add, since Christope wasn't in the comic and thus hasn't been visually depicted in the au yet (outside of one picture I have on tumblr), that he's a sea horse. : 3 And on that note: for anyone who wants more visuals for the AU, I have tons of them over on my art blog (rosereleasestheart.tumblr.com), I even have a handy link on the left hand side of the page that takes you straight to a list of all the stuff I've drawn so far. Feel free to check that out if that floats your boat!
> 
> The title for this fic comes from the song "What If" by Tokio Hotel.
> 
> Enjoy everyone! <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title comes from "Another Lonely Night" by Adam Lambert.

“I’m in deep trouble,” Viktor sighed.

“Oh, I know you are,” his friend and fellow prince Christophe said, his brow perfectly arched as he eyed his lounging companion. After breakfast they had taken to Viktor’s private room, where they now lay on his bed and were going over the details of the night before. Or rather, while Viktor sighed endlessly over the details and Christophe listened patiently, always ready with the odd quip during lulls in the conversation.

“You should have seen Yakov’s face when he was told you bailed on the banquet the other night. Never have I seen such an angry shade of red on anyone’s face before. It was quite something.”

Viktor rolled over onto his back, arms arched high over his head, tail flicking almost agitatedly. “No, no, not that.” Well, a little of that, maybe. But Yakov being unimpressed with him wasn’t out of the norm.

“Ah.” Chris grinned. “Perhaps you are referring to the reason why you weren’t present, no?”

Viktor scrubbed his hands over his face. “What am I going to do, Chris? Yuuri was so cute and charming, and I _fell asleep_ on him. No wonder he was gone when I woke up. I’ll be lucky if he wants anything to do with me ever again.”

“Have you seen yourself lately? How could he not. Not to mention that you’re a prince. You’re quite the catch.”

“But that’s just it though,” Viktor murmured. “When he saw me last night... he fled. I don’t think he ever realized that I _am_ a prince. Not until I entered the room with my family anyway.” Viktor recalled the utter panic he’d seen in Yuuri’s eyes, the way Yuuri had immediately bowed to him like one of his servants. Like the afternoon they’d had at the market had been a shared dream, but now that they were awake it was over and gone and there was no longer any room for what could have been.

Or at least it had seemed that way at first, until a determined look had shone brightly in Yuuri’s warm eyes and he’d asked Viktor to dance with him. Outside of the Banquet altogether, without the music or the fancy decorations or any eyes on them. Just the two of them in their own world. Nobody danced with him the way Yuuri had, Viktor thought with a private smile. Nobody _looked_ at him the way Yuuri had on that day at the market, like he was worth being around for reasons other than his title.

And, gods, the _look_ on Yuuri’s face when he’d dipped Viktor in his strong arms, like Yuuri had wanted to devour him whole. Just the memory of it alone made Viktor shiver.

“No one expects to meet the prince at the market,” Chris said with a considering hum, breaking Viktor out of his reverie. “You certainly can’t blame him for being nervous. You mentioned he seems like the shy type.”

“I suppose,” Viktor conceded.

“What would have been nice,” Chris said with a small pout, “is if you had waited until I arrived before you just took off into the night with your lover boy. Someone has to veto through your usually terrible taste in mermen, and it might as well be me.”

“Chris!” Viktor protested with an angry blush. “It’s not my fault you were late, as per usual.”

“Fashionably late,” Chris corrected. He leaned back on his arms, stared down at Viktor over the length of his nose. “And what’s worse is you didn’t even get to properly meet my beautiful husband. Breakfast this morning doesn’t count, he was hardly in the room longer than a few minutes before he had to go right to work.”

“I’m sorry,” Viktor said, smiling apologetically up at his friend. He truly was. He knew he had a habit of getting stuck inside his own head sometimes, oblivious or uncaring of time and place. He didn’t mean to cause trouble for others, it just... sort of happened sometimes. “I’ll meet him tonight at dinner. Properly,” he emphasized with a wink.

That seemed to be enough for Chris. He eyed his fingernails before asking in a curious voice, “So when do you see lover boy again?”

Viktor could practically hear the ‘thud’ of the mood in the room plummeting at that single question alone. “...I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t even know where he lives or what he really does. He was very vague when I asked.” Yuuri had avoided answering pretty much every question Viktor had asked, now that he thought about it. He hadn’t been bothered at the time, he’d simply been happy to be in Yuuri’s company, but now that he was left with nothing but memories what was he to do about it?

Chris’ eyebrows shot upwards. “You’re kidding me. So you don’t already have another date lined up, let alone even have a way to contact him? Oh, Viktor.”

Viktor shielded his burning face away from his friend with his hands. “I know, I know,” he said through them.

“Well, there’s gotta be something. I refuse to believe he left you nothing to go off of, not if your night really went as well as you said it did.”

Viktor reluctantly pulled his hands away from is face. There was something. He slipped the bracelet he was wearing off his wrist and held it up for Chris to see. “All I really have is this -- Yuuri bought it for me at the market.”

“Hmm, cute.” Chris took the bracelet and examined it. He spun it around his fingers absentmindedly. “You know, there might actually be a way to solve this little conundrum of yours.”

“Really?!” Viktor flipped over onto his front and sat up, completely at attention. “Tell me!”

Chris grinned, and if there was a touch of mischief to it, then Viktor certainly didn’t care. Not so long as it helped lead him back to Yuuri.

“I’m thinking... a touch of magic?”

  
\--

  
Phichit nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Prince Viktor’s voice call out to him from the doorway of his study room.

It wasn’t often that Viktor, or any of the royal family for that matter, came down to this part of the castle. Whenever the royal family needed something, they always sent a guard down to retrieve him. The only ones who frequented that section of the castle were servants, guards, and, of course, the Sea Witches (which consisted of exactly Phichit himself and his mentor Celestino). Oh, and of course there were also the customers. Usually just those who worked within the castle and who sought aid during their down time, but customers all the same.

Except now Prince Viktor lingered in his doorway, and boy did he ever look like a customer right then and there.

Viktor hovered by the doorway like he didn’t have the right to enter unpardoned. Imagine that, the eldest prince looking so unsure, like he didn’t belong there when one day the entire castle and more would be his. Phichit would have chuckled at the thought if the reality of the situation -- that Prince Viktor _was in his doorway and wanted something from him_ \-- wasn’t staring him dead in the face.

Phichit dropped everything and went to him, bowing when he got close enough to talk without having to raise his voice past what he liked to think of as his ‘serious Sea Witch’ tone. Calm, steady, private, in case anyone uninvolved was nearby. Best to act inconspicuous if the prince really was as nervous as he looked. “Your Highness. May I help you with something?”

Viktor paused and glanced behind him, as if... Ah. Someone else was there. Maybe moral support? Phichit didn’t have an issue with allowing outsiders in on transactions -- though most Sea Witches did, for one reason or another -- and if it would help...

“Would you like to invite your friend inside?”

“Oh, no. I’m perfectly fine out here,” a voice -- Prince Christophe? -- answered for Viktor. Sure enough, Chris poked his head in the doorway and winked right at Phichit. “Besides, someone should keep look out and make sure no one interrupts.”

“If you’d prefer, Your Highness,” Phichit answered with a polite nod. Two princes at his door in one day? Why oh why did he get the feeling he was swimming straight into something bigger than he could chew.

Phichit cleared his throat and gestured for Viktor to follow him further into the room, specifically the very back, where he kept a small but cozy space for working with customers one on one. A thin curtain made up of thread and a wide assortment of colourful beads were the only thing separating the small space from the rest of the room. Phichit liked to have a means of shutting off the rest of the world during transactions, but not one that would make it hard for said customer to relax and trust that if they wanted to leave anytime during the deal that they could. Trust was of utmost importance when handling such sensitive work.

Phichit waited until Viktor had taken the seat across from him before he began talking. “If I may ask, Your Highness, what is it that brings you here today?”

Viktor fiddled with something in his hand, though what exactly Phichit couldn’t tell. His eyes were downcast, like a part of him was deep in thought, still coming to a conclusion on something. “I...” Viktor looked up briefly before looking down into his hands again. “I’m sorry, I’ve never done this before.”

Phichit gave a small wave of his hand. “No apologies needed. I promise I won’t ask for your soul this time around.” At the sight of Viktor’s face turning stark white, Phichit added with haste, “That was a joke, I promise! I don’t actually do that.”

Viktor swallowed. “Right. I was... I was hoping that you’d be able to help me find someone.”

For ‘someone,’ hm? Like Phichit couldn’t guess exactly who. His stomach began to flip flop inside of him as he hoped against hope that he was somehow mistaken. “I may be able to help. Who is it that you seek?”

That’s when Viktor looked up and at Phichit, his eyes and mouth both firm with decision. “I’m looking for a merman by the name of Yuuri. Black hair and tail, brown eyes. The sweetest person you could find in the whole ocean. Can you help me find him?”

Phichit hated it when he was right. Of course Viktor wanted to find possibly the one person in the entire ocean who never wanted to be found by anyone, apart from his small selection of customers. The same person who went out of his way to make it extremely difficult to find him, even if you were a customer!

The same person that, years ago, Phichit had promised to never give away his secrets or his locations or -- or anything, really. As much as he hadn’t understood or necessarily agreed, he’d still made that promise. And now here came royalty knocking on his door, asking him to break such a promise, and he was bound by duty to do so, lest he suffer the consequences of a displeased royal family member. Phichit had never seen an angry Viktor, and he didn’t plan on it anytime soon.

But, Yuuri...

Think, he had to think!

Phichit took a deep breath. “I’m... not entirely sure I can do that.”

Viktor’s brow furrowed. “You are unable to?”

“Well, it -- it depends! Tracking magic isn’t always the most reliable, given that subjects tend to, you know, _move_ ,” Phichit said with a shrug. “But in order to find someone, the spell would require a part of them to act off of. Some hair, maybe a scale. Sometimes gifts work.”

Viktor’s arm shot out, and in his hand lay an inexpensive looking bracelet. One that Phichit remembered seeing Viktor wear while with Yuuri the other night. One that Yuuri had certainly mentioned buying for his ‘Banquet date’ when they’d chatted about his strange encounter a little while ago.

A gift from Yuuri to Viktor.

Damn it.

“He gave this to me the day we met at the market,” Viktor explained, running his fingers along the smooth, light pink orbs that made up the bracelet. It was nothing fancy, but the way Viktor held it so carefully in his hands, it was as if it were the most expensive, precious thing he owned. “I’ve worn it every day since then, even when I’m asleep.”

Phichit swallowed. “I see.”

Viktor looked up at him hopefully. “Would this work? I don’t care what price I have to pay, I need to see him again. Please.”

Phichit worried his bottom lip as he thought it over. He wanted to agree to it. Gods knew Yuuri was probably suffering just as much heartache over their parting, but could he perform the spell without giving away who Yuuri truly was? Viktor had met him in disguise as a regular merman, not a Sea Witch, and Phichit knew Yuuri intended to keep it that way. But if the spell worked it could give that part away! And then there was his promise to consider.

... Well, he could always alter the image of Yuuri he’d shown Viktor. He had been practicing such magic in secrecy, learning what he could from Yuuri the few times they met during the year. He had gotten somewhat stable at it, but that was always in private. He’d never attempted it in front of an audience before.

Phichit stared back into Viktor’s waiting, hopeful eyes and felt his resolve harden. He could definitely do it, there was nothing to fear! It was only the prince, after all. And if he messed up, well, maybe he could lie through it then.

 _I’m sorry, Yuuri._ But maybe this was for the best. Maybe some promises should be broken, if the outcome meant something good in the long run for his friend.

“All right, I’ll do it,” Phichit said, ignoring the sudden nauseated feeling that churned in his stomach. He held out his hand. “The price is the bracelet.”

Viktor blinked, taken aback. “The... bracelet itself?”

“Yes,” Phichit said. “I’m afraid it won’t survive the spell. But with it, I could help you find your Yuuri. Do you accept these terms?”

Phichit expected Viktor’s resolve to flounder, as did most customers when they were expected to part ways with something of theirs in exchange for magic, but Viktor immediately dropped the bracelet into his hand like there was absolutely no question of what he was willing to do.

Well, so long as the prince knew what he wanted.

Phichit closed his fist tightly around the bracelet, felt the heat of his will melting the beads into something almost like liquid. It wouldn’t dissolve into the water surrounding him, not with Phichit’s magic at work, and it would mold itself into any shape that he pleased. Which was exactly what he needed in order to perform this spell.

“Imagine him in your minds eye,” Phichit calmly said as he opened his hand. He traced a large circle before him, the pink liquid remains of the bracelet following his finger and forming the frame of what would be a watery, one-way window. “Remember the sound of his voice, the touch of his hand, the feelings he inspired deep inside. Remember them and you will find him in this window.”

Viktor’s eyes, which had been following Phichit’s hand as if in a hypnotized state, fell then to the center of the watery window. They searched and then widened, and the difference between the prince who had hesitated at his door and the man who stared at his beloved was like night and day. His mouth fell open and his eyes lit up, a pleasant rosy colour touched his cheeks. Viktor sucked in his next breath as if he were aching for it, as if the sight of Yuuri alone had breathed life into him.

Phichit’s heart pounded against his ribs as he watched the prince and waited for any surprise or alarm. He’d deliberately evoked Viktor’s memories into the spell to alter the image that would shine in the window, and given that they were fresh memories they wouldn’t be hard to recall, but there was always the chance something could go wrong.

He went to Viktor’s side to take a look for himself and had to stop himself from letting out a triumphant whoop when he saw that Yuuri was as he appeared at the banquet, minus the silver accessories he had been wearing. The Yuuri in the window was hard at work, going through a dense forest of kelp and picking what he liked best for his collection. Several fish swam through the long stalks and around Yuuri, swimming on by as if he weren’t there at all. Yuuri didn’t appear to mind, though it was hard to read the neutral expression on his face.

“Where is he?” Viktor breathed, as though scared to speak lest the window disappear if acknowledged out loud.

“Far east from here,” Phichit answered. “Though from the looks of it I don’t think he’ll be there for much longer.”

Viktor grimaced. “He’s too far away.”

“Certainly far enough,” Phichit agreed. That was the benefit of being able to magically travel throughout the entire ocean in the blink of an eye at ones whim. An ability that Viktor, of course, did not possess. “But you said you met him at the market, yes? I’m certain he’ll appear there again someday soon if you wait long enough.”

The corner of Viktor’s mouth turned upwards. “Wait, huh?” He let out a long exhale. “It seems like all I do is wait.”

Unsure of how to respond, Phichit remained quiet and allowed the prince a few more moments of watching Yuuri before he cleared his throat and waved his hand through the window, breaking it’s shape and allowing it to dissolve into nothing.

“Is there anything more that I can do for you, Your Highness?”

Viktor shook his head, the light in his eyes gone and his expression carefully neutral. “No, that will be all,” he said in a cool voice. “Thank you for your help.”

Left with an odd and troubling impression, Phichit nodded his head and said, “My pleasure, Your Highness. I’ll be here if you change your mind.”

\--

That odd feeling only continued to linger long after Viktor left. Phichit crossed his arms tightly over his chest and told himself over and again that the prince wasn’t going to do anything foolish. He hadn’t encouraged Viktor to do anything reckless either, so he wasn’t in any trouble. (Well, not with the court, anyway. As soon as Yuuri found out about what he’d done, if he ever found out, that was going to be a whole other story.)

Yet Phichit couldn’t shake off the unsettled feeling lying deep inside. That he’d set something dangerous into motion, something out of his control.

Which was precisely why, after everyone but the night guards had gone to bed, Phichit cloaked himself with invisibility and took to the hallways that led to the royal chambers.

\--

He was only going to take a small peak, Phichit told himself as he neared the prince’s bedroom door. He’d bypassed the guards stationed outside the door to Viktor’s private corridor, and when he came across the two at his bedroom door, he’d simply waved his hand over their eyes and watched as they temporarily fell asleep.

Gently Phichit pushed the bedroom door open and poked his head in, expecting to see the prince sound asleep on his bed.

Except that he wasn’t because Viktor’s bed was completely empty.

 _Oh no, oh no, oh no!_ Phichit’s brain screamed as he rushed inside, closing the door behind him. The bed looked like it hadn’t even been touched. Where could the prince have gone at this hour? Phichit glanced around the room, searching for clues, when the large, open window off to the side suddenly caught his eye. Of course! But there were guards all around the castle, surely they would have seen Viktor leaving? Right?

Then again, the prince had become increasingly known for sneaking out on occassion. It didn’t seem to matter how much King Yakov changed the guards routes and positions, Viktor would still disappear in the middle of the day to gods knew where and return by nightfall, unscathed but nevertheless in the same amount of trouble.

Except this time, Phichit was certain Viktor wasn’t going to be back by morning before the rest of the castle woke up. Not if he aimed to travel as far as he intended.

Phichit went to the window and nearly shouted when he caught sight of Viktor down in the court yard, hiding behind a large statue as a guard swam by. Viktor’s long hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail and he had with him a bag slung over his shoulder, no doubt filled with necessities one would need for travelling.

Thank the gods, there was still time to change his mind!

Phichit swam out the window and down behind Viktor, where the prince still floated against the statue, unaware of his new guest. “ _Your Highness!_ ” Phichit stage-whispered, making the prince jump and spin around.

“Who’s there?” Viktor whispered back, gaze darting all over the place as he sought a body to attach the voice to.

Phichit brought his hands above his head and quickly lowered them, lowering with it his invisibility. “It’s me! I know what you’re up to and I’m here to talk some sense into you before you get us both into a whole lot of trouble.”

Viktor’s face hardened. “I’m not turning back,” he said.

“Yuuri’s no longer there,” Phichit reasoned. “It’s been _hours_. He won’t be anywhere near where you saw he was. Please be rational, Your Highness.”

Viktor glanced away, mouth a firm, stubborn line.

“Please come back to your room before someone catches us, Your Highness. We can talk about this in the morning, if you’d like.”

Viktor shook his head. “I can’t waste this chance,” he said, still avoiding Phichit’s gaze. “I was forced to wait until now and that was already too long.”

“Then nothing I say will change your mind?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Phichit sighed. He could always just capture the prince with a spell and call for the guards, but in no way would that resolve the issue at hand. Viktor could always just take off tomorrow night instead. Or the day after.

No, he would only be putting off the inevitable.

What he needed was another solution. It was risky, but much better than the alternative. This way, there was at least some level of control.

“Then let me lead to you a place that is much closer and more helpful to you than a bunch of kelp,” Phichit offered.

Viktor’s hardened expression relaxed as hope lit up in his eyes. “Do you know Yuuri’s current whereabouts?”

Phichit shook his head. “No, but I know of someone who is from that area who can help you. You’ve no doubt heard of the Sea Witch Eros.”

“Eros?” Viktor’s eyes widened. “But I thought he was just a story parents used to scare their children into behaving.”

Phichit bit back a sudden laugh. Yuuri would definitely get a kick out of that. Not that it was the worst thing people said about the myth that was Eros... “He’s as real as you and I are, Your Highness,” Phichit said, “and he knows that area better than anyone else out there. Find him and you’ll be able to find your Yuuri.”

Viktor bit his lip. “But how am I to find someone like Eros? Are you absolutely certain he exists?”

“Oh, he exists.” Phichit pointed eastward. “He lies in the same direction as Yuuri, though much, much closer. If you truly want to find him, then you will. But I warn you, Your Highness. It’s not safe out there. No one can guarantee you a safe journey.”

“I’ve braced myself for it,” Viktor said without hesitation.

 _But have you?_ Phichit wanted to ask. The prince snuck out often, yes, but he never went far -- and Yuuri lived far away from everything.

“I can send you most of the way,” Phichit said instead. He drew his hand up and made a fist, as though he’d taken grip of the water itself. Summoning his will, he pulled his hand down and to the side, ripping through the water an opening that lead directly to the east, miles and miles away. The edges shone brightly, making both he and Viktor squint at the sudden light.

Viktor made as if to move through the portal, but Phichit held out a hand to stop him.

“Forgive my bluntness,” Phichit began, “but if you’re not back sometime around morning, I’ll personally come after you and drag you back by your tail. I serve you, but so do I serve your mother and father, and I know exactly how they’re going to react when they found out you’ve left.” Phichit offered a small smile. “Not that I want to see anything bad happen to you, either. Understand?”

Viktor blinked, clearly taken aback that someone beneath him had spoken so brazenly, but an amused smile pulled at his lips. “Do what you must,” he said, “ and I’ll do the same.”

Phichit pulled his hand away and swam back, giving Viktor space to move. “Then go find your Yuuri.”

Viktor nodded back. Without a moment to lose, he swam through the portal. As soon as the prince disappeared through, Phichit closed the entrance.

It only took a second before the weight of the situation properly sat itself on Phichit’s shoulders. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep, shuddery breath.

“Gods, I’m an idiot.”

  
\--

  
“Yuuri!”

“Nn.” Only half-awake, Yuuri rolled over on his bed and jolted when he saw that large, magical orb he kept next to his bed -- for late night chats with friends and family (when he bothered to actually have them) -- was lit up with the image of a panicked Phichit.

“Phichit!” It didn’t matter the distance or the magical pact they had between them, Yuuri could sense something was terribly, terribly wrong. “What happened, why are you --”

“No time to explain! Viktor is coming your way!”

Yuuri’s face paled. Viktor? As in _Prince Viktor?_ But that was impossible. “No, he’s not,” he said. “How would he even...”

“Because I sent him!” The small image of Phichit in the orb was practically tearing his hair out. “Listen, it’s a long story, but he’s trying to find you. Or rather the you he knows, but he’s looking for Eros-you to find, well, you, you know? And I’m contractually obligated to do what he wants, so I had to. The alternative was way worse, believe me. But he’s been gone for hours--”

Yuuri's hands gripped the kelp that made up the covering of his bed. “Hours?”

“Hours! And I have no idea if he’s anywhere near you or if a shark has eaten him or -- or something worse than that. It’s eating me alive, Yuuri!”

Yuuri raked a hand through his hair as he tried to process everything quickly. “Okay. Okay... So he’s out here, somewhere, looking for the version of me he knows, by finding the actual me. And you say it’s been hours?”

Phichit nodded. “I said I’d give him until morning to find you before I’d go after him but I change my mind, I don’t think I should wait any longer. I’m gonna--”

“No,” Yuuri interrupted, “you should stay there.”

Phichit blinked. “Come again?”

“I’ll go out and find him,” Yuuri clarified. “You need to stay there in case the castle discovers he’s missing. If you’re gone too, they’ll suspect something. That will just make everything worse.”

“Yuuri--”

“No buts,” Yuuri said. “Besides, you’ve already broken a promise to me. The least you can do is listen to me now.”

“... You’re right. Yuuri, I’m truly sorry. But I had to. You know I had to.”

“I know,” Yuuri said with a weak smile. There was too much going on in his head to properly wrap his thoughts around the anger he should be feeling. It’d strike later, when this was all said and done with, but that was then and this was now, and right now he needed to go find a wandering prince. “I’m not happy about it, but we can talk about it later if you want.”

“Okay.” Phichit let out a long breath. “Good luck, Yuuri. I’ll keep an eye on everything around here until, well, you know.”

Grabbing his travel bag and a few necessities, Yuuri prepared himself as best he could for whatever he would (hopefully) find. An ill prince, a wounded prince. _A_ living _prince_ , his mind supplied anxiously.

“Don’t worry, Phichit,” Yuuri said, digging deep to find the strength to face someone he never thought he’d see again. “I’ll find him before then. We can worry about the ‘after’ later.”

  
\--

  
It was hard to imagine Viktor anywhere near here.

 _Here_ was wild and untamed; no one else for miles but for other ocean creatures that drifted through alone or in schools, and that’s just how Yuuri liked it. Here he didn’t have to worry about appearances or how others thought of him. Here he could practice his magic with his few but loyal customers without suspicion or fear. Here he could stretch out his tentacles and work at his leisure. Here he could just be.

But Viktor was here now, of his own accord. Aided by a certain, very much in trouble Sea Witch, but he was here because he wanted to be. Viktor was here to find _him_.

The thought alone made a troubling feeling blossom inside Yuuri’s chest. Viktor was here, looking for him. He wouldn't want to if he knew who the real Yuuri was. Viktor thought he was searching for a simple, nomadic merperson who just happened to be in the area when they’d met. A chance encounter at the market that had led to more than Yuuri could have prepared himself for. Viktor would think differently if he knew the person he’d danced with was Eros, of all creatures. A Sea Witch known throughout the ocean for his illusions and shape-shifting. The magic of trickery. (And magic that, when it failed... But he wouldn't think about that now.) That was why he had said his farewell the night of the banquet. With a soft kiss pressed to Viktor’s head he’d said good-bye to any possibility of a future together. A Sea Witch like him shouldn't be with anyone, let alone a beautiful prince like Viktor. It just wasn’t meant to be. He didn't want to see the look on Viktor’s face when he’d find out just what kind of pitiful creature Yuuri really was. He couldn’t bear the thought of seeing disgust or fear in Viktor’s eyes just at the sight of him.

(And yet...)

That was why he had to find Viktor -- and immediately send him back home, right where he belonged. Cut the budding feelings off before they could bloom into something even more troublesome.

Yuuri called out Viktor’s name as he searched, out in the open and in secret, enclosed spaces, looked for any trace of long silver hair and listened for the sound of his voice, but he ultimately found no hints of where the prince currently was.

At least, until he reached an area thick with hills and large and towering rock walls. A borderline maze-like area that even Yuuri often forwent venturing into. There was nothing in there that aided in his magic and certainly not much else for meals, so he considered it an interesting but essentially useless space.

But if he were the prince and looking for an elusive Sea Witch...

Adjusting the strap of his bag, Yuuri ventured inside, picked a random direction, and went forward.

Several turns later and he was hit with the fresh smell of blood. It could have been anyones blood, it could have been pure coincidence, but Yuuri’s gut knew. He swam as fast as he could, following the smell until he turned a corner and was faced with Viktor hiding in a hollow, curled around himself and panting like he’d been chased by something terrible. The blood Yuuri had followed to him trickled from a small wound on his shoulder. It looked like he’d banged into something rough, scrapping himself pretty good in the process.

Yuuri swallowed. “Your Highness?”

Viktor started, hitting his hit against the ceiling of the hollow. Cursing, he rubbed his head and eyed Yuuri. The look on Viktor’s face made Yuuri’s heart want to break. There was none of the familiarity, none of the warmth or joy that he remembered from their brief time together. Just fear.

But that was how things really were. This was reality.

“Who are you?” Viktor rushed out, and though there wasn’t any space to do so he attempted to back away further from Yuuri. His eyes shot all over Yuuri’s body, taking in the long tentacles and his neutral expression. No doubt Viktor was comparing him to Phichit, whose blue and golden hues invited people to him, gave them the impression of someone calm and strong and trustworthy.

Yuuri looked nothing like that. He looked like the utter depths of the ocean, the black of his tattoos traveling up and curling over his body like possessive tendrils, ready to drag him down to the bottom. The bright and silver jewels magically applied to his form only served to highlight this even more so, with their sharp and glinting edges. Yuuri knew what Viktor saw as he took him in. For the first time since he’d chosen his tattoos, he regretted making that particular decision.

“I am Eros,” Yuuri spoke, slipping into his role with all the ease of breathing in and out.

Yuuri expected several things to happen in response to this, but what he didn’t expect was for Viktor’s eyes to suddenly roll up into the back of his head and for him to go limp against the rock wall beside him.

“Your Highness?” Yuuri hurried forward. He gently shook Viktor’s shoulder. “Your Highness?” In a quieter voice, he said, “Viktor?”

Viktor simply continued to float there, unconscious.

Well, this was new. No one had ever fainted at having met him before. Screamed and fled away as fast as they could? Yes. Some shot straight past fear and went right into begging for magic no matter the cost. But no one had ever out right passed out before.

Yuuri took a deep breath to help gather himself. Now wasn’t the time to ponder that. There was work to do. First, heal Viktor’s wound so that no wild creature would follow them with hungry interest, and then once that was accomplished, he would take Viktor home.

Yuuri quickly looked over Viktor’s unconscious form and deliberated.

... Well, maybe he could take him back to his cave to make sure nothing else was wrong with him. Nothing good would come of sending home a panicked prince who had ideas of meeting with a Sea Witch to find someone who didn’t really exist. Yuuri would talk some sense into him, get him to see the error of his judgement. Then take him back home.

Yes, that was completely reasonable.

  
\--

Viktor opened his eyes, slowly and with a lot of resistance. He groaned to himself at how sluggish and out of it he felt, like he’d been asleep for years and was only now reluctantly waking up. He blinked several times, and it was only after a minute that he was able to begin to take in his surroundings.

He wasn’t out in the wild anymore, that much was for sure. He lay on a bed of wild, green plants, layered thickly on what looked to be a tall and flat rock. Viktor gave a soft tug and found that they were attached rather tightly to the rock, as if the two were one and the same.

Viktor looked up and all around him, eyes widening as he took in cave he was currently in. The bed itself resided in an alcove along in the wall. Next to the bed stood a tall, thin rock, with a large orb that sat right on top. Despite it being clear, a soft and warm light emanated from it, the only light source in an otherwise completely dark room.

 _Magic,_ his brain supplied. Not unlike the magic the royal Sea Witch used to light up the castle at night. What else could it be?

Further out were a couple of seats, not much different from the ones he had seen when he’d visited Phichit. There were even long strings of glittering beads that hung in the doorway. Viktor’s eyes followed the strings upwards, finding many more smaller recesses in the cave walls where there appeared to be hundreds of glass bottles that contained different coloured liquids and ingredients. Most of them were things Viktor had never seen before, much less knew the names of. He couldn’t begin to imagine what they could be used for and how.

Viktor’s eyes continued to go up. That’s when he caught the faint movement of something moving in the darkness, the sound of glass clinking, the murmur of a smooth voice pondering aloud -- then a soft gasp. Viktor blinked and then suddenly whatever was lurking in the dark was sinking down to his level. Long, black tentacles appeared first, followed by sharp, silver jewels that caught the light and sparkled. They were unfamiliar, but what followed that was what had Viktor’s breath seize in his chest.

“Eros,” Viktor breathed. He couldn’t believe it, he’d actually found the mythical Sea Witch.

Here Eros floated before him, hands on his hips, regarding him with such a cool expression, like Viktor were something to dissect and shove into one of his hundreds of glass jars.

A panicked thought occurred to him: Eros could and might actually do that, if he weren’t careful. Not even a few hours ago Eros was just a tale, something whispered about but never taken as fact, but here he was in the flesh, and Vikor had no idea what he was capable of.

“Yes, that would be me,” Eros said, head tilting a touch to the side as he continued to regard Viktor.

Viktor felt like he needed to say something, a proper greeting would be the most fitting, but no words came to him and his voice certainly wasn’t anywhere to be found. He continued to stare up at Eros almost foolishly.

Something in Eros’ expression softened. (Pity? Most certainly pity.) “How are you feeling? You were rather worked up when I found you.”

“Oh -- um. Fine?” Whatever ‘fine’ in a situation like this would entail.

“It looked like you were swimming away from something.”

Viktor’s eyes widened. “I was! Or I thought I was. I heard something terrible in the distance and saw -- well, I thought I saw the shadow of something big.” He glanced away, hands fiddling with themselves as he tried to recall exactly what had happened. But in his panic, he wasn’t entirely sure that he’d actually seen anything. “I might have been a touch clumsy on the whole ‘hiding’ part, but... oh! My arm!” He turned his arm to get a good look at where he’d accidentally hurt himself but found no wound. He could of sworn...

“I took the liberty of healing you,” Eros explained.

“Oh,” Viktor breathed. But that required magic, which meant... “Ah, what do I owe you?”

“Nothing.”

Viktor furrowed his brow. “But, all magic...”

“Has a cost, yes.” The corner of Eros’ mouth turned upwards. “It took nothing but a little bit of energy to perform. But if it bothers you, then consider explaining to me why you’re here to be payment.”

Why he was here... Eros spoke as if he already knew that Viktor had been seeking him. Maybe it was obvious. Or maybe Eros could just sense these things. Viktor swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat.

“I wanted to find you,” Viktor said. “I’m searching for someone who I’ve been told has been seen in these parts. I was told you’d be able to help me find him.”

Viktor half expected Eros to inquire further, but the Sea Witch only watched him carefully as if waiting for him to continue on his own. Viktor couldn’t help but feel almost small beneath Eros’s gaze, his skin tingling from the feeling of his penetrating eyes roaming over him.

Viktor swallowed again and forced himself to continue. “There’s a merman I know. Admittedly I don’t know much about him, but his name is Yuuri. He has black hair and a black tail, and the warmest brown eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve never met anyone like him before and wish to see him again. I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t see him again. Please, would you hel--”

Eros held up his hand, silencing Viktor mid-way, and in the same dispassionate voice he answered, “I’m sorry, but I cannot help you.”

He’d answered so quickly, like he’d known how he was going to respond before Viktor had even finished asking. If there was one thing Viktor wasn’t used to, it was being rejected. (Or interrupted, for that matter). “You can’t or you won’t?”

“It’s not possible,” Eros said in lieu of a genuine answer. He swam closer, close enough for Viktor to make out the silver painted on Eros’s lips and eyelids. “I know you are not used to hearing the word ‘no,’ Your Highness, but things out here work much differently than they do inside your castle. I do no bend to anyones wishes, and I cannot make the impossible happen.”

Viktor stared up into Eros’s cold eyes, felt his desperation to be heard rising like the tide. His hands gripped the plants beneath him tightly. “I don’t understand what is ‘impossible’ about it. He was in the area, was he not?”

Eros turned away. “I cannot help you,” he repeated, voice firmer.

“But he was _here_ ,” Viktor protested, “I know he was, I saw it with my own eyes. If you could just tell me how to find him now -- I’ll pay any price you ask, I’ll -- ”

“Enough!” Eros spun back towards him, eyes heated, the careful mask of neutrality cracking before Viktor’s eyes, revealing something uneasy. Viktor backed up against the cave wall, heart pounding a violent rhythm against his chest.

“There is _nothing_ you could give me, nothing that I want,” Eros continued. “This merman you seek? _He doesn’t exist._ ” He closed his eyes and took a deep, trembling breath. When his eyes opened again, his expression had resumed it’s prior disinterest, though Viktor couldn’t help but notice the nervous flicking of Eros’s tentacles, or the quiet trembling of his hands at his sides.

“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Your Highness,” Eros said. “But I know of who you speak and I can only tell you the truth: he doesn’t exist. He never existed. I cannot help you find someone that never was. The only thing you can do is go home and forget you ever met him. You don’t see it now, but it’s really better this way.”

“I can’t do that,” Viktor said with a shake of his head. Yuuri didn’t exist? How could he ever believe that when he’d danced with him all night, held his warm body against his. Yuuri had been the most real thing Viktor had touched in who knew how long. Not only that, but Yuuri made _him_ feel real as well.

He couldn’t just give up on that. He refused to.

“There’s no other option,” Eros said.

Viktor pursed his lips, holding back a bitter laugh. “You say that, but I don’t believe you. I know who I met and I know he’s out there somewhere.” He pulled away from the cave wall and nodded politely at Eros. “I thank you for your help, but I must be on my way now.”

Confusion flashed across Eros’s face. “Where are you going?”

“To find Yuuri. On my own.” Viktor made to swim past Eros, but Eros quickly moved in front of him, blocking his exit. Fear shot through Viktor -- what would Eros do if he continued to push? -- but Viktor forced the fear down. Nothing was going to stop him from finding his beloved, not even someone as powerful and mysterious as Eros.

“There’s nothing you can do to stop me,” Viktor reiterated. “But you don’t have to worry, I won’t tell anyone of your existence. Your secret will be safe with me. Just let me pass and we can both forget this encounter.”

“I’m afraid not,” Eros said, eyes narrowing. The next thing Viktor knew Eros had covered his eyes with his hand, breathed the word _“Sleep”_ in a soothing voice that had Viktor’s head going hazy. Protest was born and then dead on Viktor’s lips before he could speak it, and in the next second he was unconscious.

  
\--

  
Yuuri should had felt bad, and admittedly he did a little bit, but when it was a question of survival there was only one option. If that meant knocking a prince out and taking him home against his will, then so be it.

Yuuri checked his magic orb before they left, hoping to catch Phichit in his room and tell him that they were on their way back so that they could easily sneak Viktor back into his private corridors, but there was no answer. At this hour of the day though that only made sense; perhaps the castle was already alerted to Viktor’s absence. That meant not only would Phichit be busy with the royal family, but the guards would be on high alert. The thought of trying to sneak around the castle and return Viktor to a place where someone trusted would find him before he woke up and did something reckless again made Yuuri’s insides twist, but it had to be done. Just because he wanted to sever all ties with the prince didn’t mean he wanted anything bad to happen of him. He cared a little too much for the prince, given how little time they’d actually spent together.

“It’s for your own good,” Yuuri said to the sleeping prince. He made to brush a hand through Viktor’s long silver hair but caught himself just in time to stop. No, he couldn’t afford to do something even that harmless.

At the very least the prince looked relatively peaceful in his slumber.

The gods were surely laughing at him, forcing him to part bittersweet ways with Viktor like this a second time.

  
\--

  
Glamoured so that they were invisible to the naked eye, Yuuri stared up at the looming castle before him. Viktor barely stirred in his arms, still in a deep sleep and would be for a while longer. Guards roamed outside the castle, on high alert for any suspicious activity -- or sign of their prince returning.

Yuuri took a deep breath. They couldn’t see them; he’d waited outside the castle for a good ten minutes, just watching, and no one even so much looked his way despite being out in the open. This would be an easy task, as soon as he found a proper spot to deposit Viktor without alerting anyone to his presence. He just had to be careful.

He swam past the guards without interruption and into the castle grounds. Though he would prefer to be anywhere but there, Yuuri couldn’t help but admire the scenary. The entire castle was a light and welcoming pink, with the decor coloured in various shades of warmer pinks, purples, and pearl white. The castle grounds themselves consisted of a well tamed and groomed garden of coral reef, where various colourful fish visited and swam through. It was a beautiful area. Yuuri’s mind couldn’t help but betray him with a vision of Viktor personally introducing him the garden, perhaps showing him his favourite spot and inviting Yuuri to sit with him a while. Maybe their hands would touch and Viktor would smile at him like he was the loveliest flower there.

Yuuri glanced down at Viktor’s face, his face calm but for the slight gathering of his brow. He really needed to stop thinking about the ‘what if’s, it was starting to become a unique form of torture.

Swimming up and through an open window on the top floor of the castle, Yuuri quickly took in his surroundings and sighed with relief when he found no one else was around. Though his blood was beginning to murmur to him that Phichit was somewhere nearby, the way it always did when they were close to each other. The magical pact they had made years ago ensured that they would be able to sense each other when they were close. But Yuuri didn’t know the area at all and didn’t have the time to go searching for him, so it was best not to bother with that. He could chat with his friend at a later date.

Sudden and loud chatter interrupted Yuuri’s thoughts. Guards coming to make their rounds? Yuuri moved to hide inside a nearby open doorway. If he waited just long enough, he could leave Viktor near their path, maybe make some artificial noise to get their attention...

“Yuuri?”

Yuuri spun around, bracing himself for whatever he found, but the tension flooded out of him when he realized it was just Phichit, who was scrutinizing the room like he was trying to solve a complex puzzle.

Phichit squinted his eyes. “You _are_ there, aren’t you? I sense you are, but...”

Yuuri pulled down the glamour cloaking both him and Viktor and smiled at his friend. “I’m here, as well as a certain someone.”

Phichit beamed. “You found him!” He swam over and examined the unconcious prince, letting out a long sigh when he observed that nothing was wrong with him. “Oh, thank the gods. I owe you my life, Yuuri. You wouldn’t believe how panicked everyone is right now.”

“Oh, I can imagine.”

“And you picked a great moment to drop by,” Phichit continued. “The King just ordered me to get my things and help lead a search party -- I tried to hold out as long as possible, but this is the first time Viktor’s been gone this long and no one is handling it very well. You just caught me on my way out. Oh!” Phichit gestured to the room around them. “This is my space, by the way. My little magical work shop. Do you like it? I spent forever docorating it.”

Yuuri couldn’t help but snort. It had been too long since he’d really talked to Phichit, so despite the urgency racing through him, he couldn’t help but feel calmer just by being near his friend. “It’s as lavish as you are,” he teased.

Phichit chuckled. “I’m taking that as a compliment. But we’re getting off topic. As much as I’d love to have you stay, you should really get out of here before anyone finds us. I don’t know how I’d explain you being here.” He held out his arms to take the prince.

Yuuri cast one last look at the sleeping prince, mentally saying good-bye for what was hopefully the last time, and went to hand him over --

“Phichit, are you read --”

Yuuri froze, his horror mirrored in Phichit’s face as his friend stared wide-eyed over his shoulder and at the doorway. Quickly, Phichit swam around Yuuri and tried to block him from the intruders sight.

“Otabek! Lovely to see you here of all places. I was --- I was just...”

Yuuri inhaled, held his breath for the count of five seconds, then released it along with his fear in a slow exhale. Eros wouldn’t be afraid. Eros was unstoppable, could take on anything and anyone. Eros would handle this.

Yuuri spun around and swam to Phichit’s side, Viktor still lying in his arms, and smiled at the Captain of the Guard as though he were a juicy morsel for him to eat live.

“Hello,” he drawled, lifting Viktor up and outwards towards the Captain in offering. “I bring you your prince.”

  
\--

Everything would be okay, Yuuri thought as he was surrounded by guards and Viktor was forcefully taken from him.

Everything would be okay, he thought as he stared down spears that circled around him, daring him to move even an inch. A voice behind him ordered him to move forward, though where they were taking him, Yuuri wasn’t sure. Off to the side Phichit was pleading with the Captain, trying desperately to explain the situation, but no one was hearing it. No one but the King and Queen would hear it.

Of course Yuuri could glamour himself and escape. It would be all too easy. But what would happen to Phichit, who had been caught alongside him?

Yuuri forced himself to breathe in and out and kept his eyes trained forward, his demeanor calm and on alert.

Everything would be okay.


	2. don't call my name, don't call my name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait, this chapter was surprisingly hard to write for whatever reason. (It's 100% because of anxiety and the fight scene though if I'm being honest here.) Shout out to my roomie for reading this over and listening to me whine all week about writing fight scenes. I'm still not 100% satisfied with this chapter but I also refuse to linger on this for any longer, so here it is in all its imperfect glory. I hope you're able to enjoy it despite its flaws. :' )
> 
> Also I promise to describe characters better in future chapters (and also draw more character profiles), but for now: Sara is a jellyfish, Otabek is a thresher shark, Yurio is a tiger shark, Lilia and Yakov are both mermaids, and Celestino is a narwhal (and oh yes, he definitely has the horn, I would never leave that out. Celestino is a sea unicorn hehehe).
> 
> As always, come find me over on my personal tumblr (roserelease.tumblr.com) or my art blog (rosereleasestheart.tumblr.com)! I promise I'm more scared of you than you are of me. : B
> 
> Chapter title is from "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga.

Viktor blinked his eyes open and barely stifled a groan. _This again_ , he thought as he slowly roused from his unnatural sleep. Again his head felt hazy, like his thoughts were trying to swim through something thick and sticky, but at least this time he recognized his surroundings. After all, it would be hard not to remember his own bedroom. He lay on his large and spacious bed, the head of it shaped like a large clam shell. Delicate pearls framed the large mirror across the room that he sat before each morning so that he may be readied for each day by his attendants. Soft and sheer curtains covered the large window on the other side of the room, a thin barrier between him and the rest of the ocean. His room was a private space for a prince to retire to after a long day of studying and meetings, cleaned and tidied daily by the hands of his attendants. A used but not quite a lived in space; his room, and yet not really.

Despite its familiarity, Viktor didn’t feel at all comforted.

“So you’re finally awake,” a voice off to the side said. Viktor turned his head and blinked up at Christophe, whose expression was pinched with something between worry and bemusement.

“Chris? You’re still here?” Chris and his entourage were supposed to have headed back home that very morning. Or what Viktor assumed was supposed to be that morning, he wasn’t entirely sure what day it was or what hour. For all he knew a week could have passed. How long had Chris been sitting there, waiting for him to wake?

Chris shot him a pained look. “As if I could have left after the little stunt you pulled. Do you have any idea how worried we all were? We had no idea where you’d taken off to. You could have gotten yourself hurt, or worse!” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I thought you said Yuuri was too far away to chase after. I didn’t think you would seriously...”

Viktor turned his head towards the ceiling, a dull ache beginning to pound behind his eyes. He didn’t know what to say.

Chris eyed Viktor carefully. “Please tell me you at least found him. I need to hear some good news after the morning I’ve had.”

Viktor shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. His throat felt too thick and the ache behind his eyes was turning into a terrible burn. He squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden wave of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him.

“Oh, Viktor. I didn’t mean to get your hopes up for nothing. If I’d known...”

“ _Don’t_ ,” Viktor forced out. He couldn’t do this right now.

An uncomfortable silence fell over them and remained until eventually a servant entered the room to check on them. They were then informed that Viktor’s attendants would be in the room shortly to prepare him.

“Prepare me for what?” Viktor asked, eyes narrowing as he sat up in his bed. There were no meetings scheduled that he was aware of, no other royal guests to welcome to the castle.

Head down, eyes glued politely to the floor, the servant simply replied with, “To prepare you for the King and Queen, Your Highness. They are to speak to you and the Sea Witch.”

Viktor’s heart leapt in his chest. There was only one being that came to mind at the mention of a ‘Sea Witch,’ but was Eros really here in the castle? He looked to Chris for confirmation, but his friend avoided his eyes.

“Chris?”

Chris finally looked at him, a humorless smile on his lips. “You may have been onto something last night, my friend. You are in quite a bit of trouble.”

  
\--

  
Yuuri waited, and waited, and waited, until hours after he was taken to a private room he was finally retrieved by the guards and commanded to follow them. There didn’t seem much point in the command though, given that he was surrounded once again with spears threatening him at every angle. It wasn’t exactly like there was much choice in the matter. Yuuri almost opened his mouth to sarcastically ask if they expected him to just disappear in the blink of an eye, but the wiser part of him kept his mouth glued shut. The last thing he needed to do was scare the guards into doing something heedless and impulsive. He had to remember that it wasn’t just his livelihood on the line. The last thing he needed to do was give everyone the wrong impression.

He was taken to a sizable room. It was lit up by four large orbs, one in each corner of the room and hung from the ceiling. A long and wide rouge carpet on the floor led all the way to the other end of the room, rising right along an incline that led higher and higher until it flattened. Two large and two slightly smaller clam shell-like chairs sat on top, shiny and almost iridescent, lined with pink plush cushions for comfortable seating. Seated there at the throne was the royal family: King Yakov, Queen Lilia, Prince Yuri... and Prince Viktor.

Yuuri’s breath caught in his throat. He was really here, this was really happening. Gods, what had he gotten himself into?

It wasn’t just the royal family that were staring at him from across the room. Below the throne and off to the side were Phichit and his old mentor Celestino. Even from afar Yuuri could see the unease plain across their faces. He could practically hear all of the unasked questions that must be racing through their heads. He wished he had a better answer for them than “I screwed up.” He wished he didn’t have to meet his old mentor again, after years of silence, in such a troubling scenario. He could only imagine the disappointment Celestino was feeling right then.

Yuuri’s eyes fell onto the guards that were stationed on either side of the room. Few were able to look at him without something akin to curiosity or nervousness. There was a slight tremor in a few of the hands that held spears. A mysterious and powerful stranger was in their midst and they had only tall tales to build their expectations off of. Yuuri would have felt bad for them if he weren’t in a worse off position than they were.

Behind him, Yuuri could hear the heavy doors being pushed shut, effectively closing him in. He took a deep breath. ‘Eros’ could handle this -- whatever ‘this’ turned out to be.

He was ushered across the room until he was right in front of the throne. Unbiddingly his eyes went straight over to Prince Viktor, who sat inbetween Queen Lilia and Prince Yuri. He sat up straight, an unreadable expression on his face, and his hands were fisted in his lap. You wouldn’t have guessed that just hours ago he’d run away from home, chasing after the memory of someone he’d met only twice. His hair was pulled back and up, curled high on his head in a shape that nearly resembled that of a conical shell, and he wore his pearl necklaces and shell earrings.

He was beautiful, of course. Painfully and untouchably so.

Yuuri ripped his eyes away and met the piercing eyes of the king and queen. He’d only ever seen them from afar before, at the banquet the other night and one other time, when he’d been much younger, had first traveled to the kingdom with his family. Coincidentally it had been the queen’s birthday and the entire kingdom had exploded with a week-long celebration. He remembered hiding behind his mother and their family friend Minako as they watched the royal family pass through the city at the end of a long and colourful parade. The king and queen looked much the same now as they had back then: strong, determined, unmovable. Not someone you ever wanted to mess with.

“ _Bow_ ,” a guard behind him hissed.

Pushing back his pride, Yuuri did as told and bowed deeply.

Queen Lilia leaned forward in her seat. She spoke first, her voice firm and commanding. “So you are the Sea Witch ‘Eros.’”

“I am,” Yuuri replied, eyes politely trained onto the floor.

“And it was you who allegedly brought our Viktor back to us unharmed?”

“I did.”

“But why was he there in the first place?” King Yakov gritted his teeth. “We’re told he just up and disappeared in the middle of the night, for seemingly no reason at all. We’ve all heard stories about you, but truthfully we know nothing about you, other than the fact that you do indeed exist. What reason do we have to not suspect you had something to do with it?”

Yuuri opened his mouth to defend himself, but Viktor beat him to it.

“I left because I wanted to.”

King Yakov threw Viktor an unimpressed look, eyes narrowing. “And we’re honestly to believe that he,” he gestured to Yuuri, “had nothing to do with this?”

“He didn’t. It was all my own idea.”

Yuuri looked up at the prince, too surprised to say anything. Why was Viktor taking all of the responsibility? He hadn’t gotten the idea to leave from nowhere, after all. Even Phichit was staring at Viktor like the prince had suddenly grown several new heads on his broad shoulders. No one would question the involvement of two Sea Witches, especially when it was a prince’s word against theirs.

Yuuri recalled Viktor promising to keep his existence and their encounter a secret, but surely that didn’t include the rest of the story, did it?

“But _why?_ ” King Yakov prompted.

“I have my reasons,” Viktor answered unhelpfully.

King Yakov pinched the bridge of his nose, muttered something under his breath.

“I don’t know why any of you are surprised,” Prince Yuri said with a roll of his eyes, slouching in his seat like he’d rather be anywhere else. “He does this all the time. It was only a matter of time before he did something even more stupid. That’s just what idiots do.”

“ _Yuratchka_ ,” King Yakov hissed.

Queen Lilia held up a hand, silencing both of them before they could continue any further. She eyed Yuuri up and down, as though considering him carefully. Yuuri couldn’t help but tensen under her scrutiny.

“In spite of what we do and do not know, the fact still stands that you brought him back to us,” she said, “and for that, you have our thanks.”

Unsure of how to respond, Yuuri bowed again and accepted the thanks silently.

“But,” she continued, “we’re left with a problem. Several problems, in fact. As you’ve just heard, our Vitya has a problem with swimming off and doing as he pleases. Hardly becoming for the future heir to the throne, I’m sure you would agree.”

Viktor sighed loudly and glanced away.

Queen Lilia went on, ignoring the prince’s rudeness. “And now we have you here, an unknown and unaccounted for Sea Witch who has been living in our kingdom for who knows how long. How long have you been practicing? What magic do you know? We know none of these things and it is, frankly, very troubing. Eros, certainly you understand our concerns.”

Yuuri’s blood turned cold. He didn’t like where this was going. “Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Queen leaned back in her seat, fingers steepled together as she let the silence hang in the air for a moment longer. “And it is for these reasons,” she resumed, “that you will stay here as our guest and keep an eye on our Vitya.”

“What?” Viktor blurted.

Prince Yuri stared at the Queen, mouth hanging open. Even Phichit’s hands covered his mouth as his eyes darted back and forth between Yuuri and the royal family.

Yuuri’s heart hammered in his chest as his brain screamed for him to _disappear, just disappear right now and get out of there, consequences be damned...!_

Viktor turned towards the Queen. “You’re joking. You’re telling him to babysit me?”

Queen Lilia turned her piercing gaze onto her eldest son. “Oh, I’m quite serious.”

“I’m an adult--”

“I’m aware of this too, unfortunately.”

“Then why are you doing this?” Viktor continued, voice raising along with his desperation. “I’m free to go wherever I want. I don’t need someone to follow my every movement and report back to you like I’m some child.”

“Clearly, you do,” Queen Lilia disagreed. “You have responsibilities here that we can’t have you shirking just because you’ve grown restless. We need you here. And if we have to tie you down with an anchor in order to keep you here, then so be it.”

Viktor shook his head. “I’m not restless. I just...”

The King and Queen both stared at Viktor as they waited for him to finish, the room buzzing loudly with tension as the silence only drifted longer and longer, giving way to no answers. Prince Yuri leaned over and whispered something to Viktor, but Viktor simply sat there frozen and unresponsive.

King Yakov let out a long-held sigh and gestured for Queen Lilia to lean in close. Hands blocking their mouths from sight, they conversed privately for a moment until they seemed to reach an amicable conclusion. They then sat back properly in their seats and regarded Yuuri once more.

“It is settled then,” King Yakov said. “Eros, we will have a room prepared for you in Prince Viktor’s wing of the castle. You will be residing there for the duration of your stay. Further instructions will be given at a later time.”

Yuuri wanted to scream. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“But first, we want to see a demonstration of your magic. We want to know exactly what you are capable of. Phichit!”

Phichit jumped but quickly bowed towards the king, awaiting his orders.

“The guards will escort both you and Eros to the courtyard. We will reconvene there shortly. Understand?”

“Perfectly, Your Majesty.”

Yuuri stared ahead of him but saw or heard nothing, the heartbeat in his ears thunderous. So he was to be kept here, a prisoner for who knew how long. Until the King and Queen were satisfied that he wasn’t a threat? Yuuri wanted to laugh. How long would that take? And all the while living in close quarters to Prince Viktor, forced to follow him around like some sort of servant? This was way worse than he could have dreamed of.

He sensed more than saw Phichit move in close to him, gesturing for Yuuri to focus in on him. Yuuri’s eyes bypassed Phichit entirely, honing in on Prince Viktor, who was being spoken to by both the King and Queen. Viktor’s eyes were on him, holding the same dismay and trepidation that Yuuri felt churning in his stomach.

 _Well, you got what you wanted_ , a bitter voice at the back of Yuuri’s head laughed, though he wasn’t sure if the spitefulness was directed at him or Viktor. _Just not in the way you imagined._

  
\--

  
Immediately Yuuri was ushered to what he could only assume was the courtyard the king had mentioned. It was a wide and open space, flanked by tall pillars and small sections of groomed coral reef. Several servants who were attending to the area were ordered out by the Captain of the Guard (Otabek, was it? He was sure he’d heard Phichit call him that earlier). One look at the entering royal family had them bowing and rushing back inside of the castle in a flurry of movement.

Yuuri waited in the middle of the courtyard, Phichit silently floating next to him. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other, not since they’d both been caught hours ago. What he wouldn’t give to hear his friends assurance that everything would be okay. He desperately wanted to ask him what the king and queen had asked him about the incident before his arrival, get their stories aligned before anymore interrogating, but it was neither the time nor place. He could only pray that neither of them were in serious trouble.

The royal family entered and lined themselves up at the head of the courtyard. With a simple gesture from the queen the guards spread themselves out all along the edge. Yuuri wasn’t sure what they expected out of him, but he certainly didn’t need that much of an audience.

“Good luck,” Phichit whispered to him before swimming off to the side to join Celestino.

Yuuri inhaled deeply and gave a low bow. “What would Your Majesty wish to see of me?” he asked, the words sour in his mouth.

“Let us get straight to the point,” said Queen Lilia. “We want to see your shapeshifting magic.”

Yuuri wasn’t surprised in the slightest. Of all the types of magic out there, illusion and shapeshifting was what he was most known for. Or rather, they were what the most well known stories concerning him were about. Shapeshifting came as naturally to him as breathing. The same couldn’t be said for most other Sea Witches out there, though whether that was an issue of outside pressure or actual skill no one could say. It was however the very reason why he’d left Celestino’s side years ago. He couldn’t reach his full potential under his old mentor, who had refused to even so much as talk about that sort of magic lest he invite trouble, but under the fins of a new one Yuuri had been able to bloom in ways he’d only ever dreamed of. He had Minako to thank for how far he’d grown.

It just figured that the magic he excelled at also had a tendency to strike fear in the hearts of the distrustful. After all, who could trust someone who could make themselves appear as anyone, at anytime? How could you know who you were really talking to if their looks alone could completely decieve you?

No, most preferred to avoid the subject altogether.

Though it didn’t stop others from seeking him out, either.

‘Eros can become anyone and anything in the blink of an eye,’ the saying went, ‘and if you pay the price, then perhaps he can even do the same for you.’

No one could pay that price, as far as Yuuri was concerned, but no one wanted to hear stories about a shapeshifter who only practiced more ordinary spells for the small selection of loyal customers who paid a portion of their price with silence. That didn’t thrill hearts and ignite the imagination.

He’d lived and practiced in secret for a long time, and now he could feel years of work just evaporating away. With a simple command, the royal family would know exactly what he could do.

“As you wish,” Yuuri finally answered. They wanted to see a shapeshifter at work? Then he’d give them exactly that.

He closed his eyes, raised his arms above his head, and took a deep and steadying breath in. _Show them what you can do_ , he thought as he felt the tell-tale tingle of magic dance across his skin. He exhaled long and slow, lowered his arms in a pattern and rhythm that only he knew off by heart. He felt the warmth of the magic inside him spreading and casting his form in a bright and silvery light, broadening his shoulders, growing his hair, sharpening his features, twisting his tentacles in a long and elegant fin.

Effortlessly, he became someone else.

When Yuuri opened his eyes, when the silvery light had disappeared in thin wisps and revealed his new body to the world, he found the royal family openly gaping back at him.

“He looks just like Viktor,” Prince Yuri said under his breath, eyes narrowing as he took in Yuuri’s new form.

“I don’t just look like him,” Yuuri said, watching as the royal family startled at the change in his voice, his tone deeper, smoother, regal.

Queen Lilia broke the line, ignoring King Yakov’s hand as it reached out to pull her back. She swam until she was up close and personal. “You can impersonate ones voice as well their body?” she asked.

“Yes. I only have to see and hear someone once before I can perfectly replicate them.”

“Amazing!” Yuuri heard Phichit whisper off to the side. Celestino shushed him.

Queen Lilia gave a loose wave of her hand over her shoulder. “Vitya, come here.”

Viktor looked like he’d rather be miles away from ‘here,’ but he nonetheless swam up to her side, attention on anything but Yuuri. Queen Lilia inspected them both, even going so far as to brush her hand over Yuuri’s hair and touch his hands, as if the slightest brush against anything could potentially shatter the illusion. Yuuri did his best to hold still, keep any trace of unease away from his face.

“How long can you hold this form?” she asked, finally drawing her attention away from his body to meet his eyes.

“As long as needed, Your Majesty.”

Viktor grimaced. “Okay, I think we’ve had enough of... this. He’s obviously quite gifted at it, lets leave it at that.”

Queen Lilia hummed. “Not yet. I want to see what else you can do. You may change back, Eros.” Gesturing for Viktor to follow, the queen swam back beside the king. She waited until Yuri had fully transformed back before she clapped her hands together. “Now then, I’m going to call out different instructions and I want you to perform them to the best of your ability. I need to see what your skill level is at compared to our Sea Witch.”

Yuuri wanted to ask if she was joking, but immediately after she said that she began to list off several different commands, pausing after each once to watch Yuuri execute them as expected. Could he make something appear out of nowhere? (Not exactly -- he could create the illusion of something, or draw from his own energy to create something temporarily, but no one could permanently produce something out of nothing). How well could he manipulate water? (Fairly well, want to see a small whirlpool?) One command after another she called out, and begrudgingly Yuuri followed all of them, all the while feeling like some sort of pet being forced to perform tricks for the momentary amusement of his new owners. That’s what they were, in a way. Until they decided he could leave and that no harm was done, he was more or less their property to do with what they pleased.

Yuuri didn’t know how Phichit could live like this, at the royal family’s beck and call. By the end of the list of commands he felt wrung out and exhausted. He couldn’t help but suspect that this was intentional on the queens part; there was no way that the royal family didn’t understand that using magic literally drained energy from the magic user, energy that took time and rest to regain.

His suspicions were confirmed when the queen gestured towards Phichit, motioning for him to join Yuuri at the center of the grounds. What, did he need a partner for the next magic trick?

He wasn’t too far off.

“I want to see how well of a fighter you are,” Queen Lilia directed. “Consider our Sea Witch your opponent. No rules, except that you may not kill one another and that it ends when I decide. You may begin when ready.”

Yuuri bit back a retort. So this was an endurance test. _First some magic tricks, now lets see how well you fight someone who has been at rest the entire time? How absurd--_

His thoughts was cut off by the slam of Phichit’s body into his. Yuuri thought he heard Phichit say “I’m sorry!”, but it was forgotten in the confusion as he was shoved to the ground, blue tentacles pinning him in place. He blinked up at Phichit, who looked like he couldn’t quite believe what he was doing either. Yet that didn’t stop him from raising his fist high in the air, ready to strike.

“No hard feelings then,” Yuuri hissed. He threw his weight over to the side, dragging Phichit along with him into a roll until their positions were reversed. In a snap he elongated his nails into long claws and went for Phichit’s face.

Phichit shrieked and blocked with his arms. “Ah! Not fair!”

 _You’ve been ordered to fight me and you think_ I’m _being unfair?_ Yuuri wanted to shout. He wouldn’t really try to hurt his friend, but of course he had to make it look like he was going to. The queen would never end the fight if they played it too nice.

Besides, Phichit attacked first. As far as Yuuri was concerned, he was asking for a little payback.

Any question of fairness quickly disappeared when Phichit used his tentacles to quickly shift through the sand, making a huge and annoying brown cloud that wafted through the water around them. Yuuri coughed, pulling back to regain his senses.

“Stop!” Prince Viktor shouted from the sidelines. “Stop this at once. They’ve done nothing wrong. Can’t you see how ridiculous this is? We already know he’s a capable magic user, what more do you want?”

Yuuri heard the queen respond with, “Are you ready to tell us why you disappeared?”

He also heard the silence that followed.

Yuuri grit his teeth. Nothing to do but continue then.

Yuuri’s senses honed in on the here and now, on every single miniscule movement of Phichit’s body as they chased each other around the courtyard, the two of them dodging, striking with their fists and tentacles. He could feel everyones eyes burning into them. It wasn’t often anyone got to see two Sea Witches duke it out. Somehow that made him only more aware of his body, of how he looked when he spun out of Phichit’s grip or gracefully dodged a strike. It felt equal parts battle and performance, a violent dance for the curious.

And the frustrated, spiteful part of Yuuri wanted to _win_.

Soon he tired of fighting with just their bodies. He could feel the beginning of several bruises on his arms and sides, but that wouldn’t be enough to satiate the queen. There was only so much chasing and evading he could stand as well, and no doubt their witnesses were hungry to see something else.

So he’d show them what else he could do.

Yuuri held out his fist, silver light peaking between the crevices if his fingers. In a swift, pulling motion, he drew out from nowhere a long, silver trident. He gave it a smooth spin through the water, before posing with it aimed in Phichit’s direction.

Yuuri smirked at him, whose eyes were big and mouth was hanging open. “I’ll wait,” he teased.

Phichit narrowed his eyes, mouthed something like “traitor” under his breath. Phichit couldn’t create something purely out of his own energy yet, that much Yuuri knew, but that wouldn’t stop him from using other means.

Phichit drew a wide circle into the sand with a tentacle, a bright blue light following in its wake. From the circle he drew up his own trident, the sand within the circle transforming itself into something solid and fit for battle. Phichit took it into his hands, smirking at Yuuri from across the courtyard as he brandished his new weapon.

Exhausted as Yuuri felt, a rush of fresh adrenaline was coursing through him, overwhelming him like the great swell of the tide. He used it to meet Phichit halfway at the center of the courtyard, their tridents clanging as they clashed together. Neither of them budged as they both threw all of their strength behind their weapons.

“Nice craftsmanship. Careful that I don’t snap it into pieces,” Yuuri teased further.

Phichit grinned. “Oh, don’t worry, I won’t let you. I’ve got a reputation to uphold around here.”

Yuuri couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at that. Despite the audience and the circumstances behind the fight, it was almost like old times, when Celestino would have them practice their skills against one another. They’d lived for the competitiveness. For the rush they’d get when they’d earnestly best the other, and for the pride that would swell up in their chests when they were beaten by their good friend. Yuuri could almost pretend that the collision of their tridents and the almost too easy back and forth between them was just one of their play-fights, that there were no consequences for losing, save the loss of bragging rights.

But Yuuri had to remind himself that this wasn’t one of their play-fights. This wasn’t the past. In the here and now, they were being judged.

“Revenge for earlier,” Yuuri warned before he brought a hand up to his lips, kissed his fingertips, and blew out a thick and powerful stream of bubbles right into Phichit’s face.

Phichit faltered, swiping at the incoming bubbles with his free hand. “Agh, no more face attacks!” he cried out, eyes shut tight as the bubbles continued to fly into his face.

Here was his chance, while Phichit was distracted! Yuuri swam back, giving himself enough space to work. He slashed his trident through the water, the motion creating long silver lines that hovered before him. He did it again and again, until various silver lines criss-crossed over each other. With a wave of his hand the lines solidified itself into a large net. Then, with a blast of energy out of the same hand, he sent the net shooting towards Phichit, who let out a yelp as he was wrapped up in it and sent flying to the ground. The edges of the net attached to the ground to keep him pinned in place.

Yuuri swam over so that he hovered just over Phichit. He struggled against the netting but ultimately couldn’t move very much. Several blue tentacles slid through the small openings and reached out to grab Yuuri, but he moved so that he was just out of reach.

Yuuri adjusted the trident in his hand, spinning it so that the prongs were facing Phichit’s struggling body. Phichit’s eyes met his, his lips parted as if to speak but the words were caught in his throat.

There was no way he’d really impale his own friend, would he?

Of course not.

“Trust me,” Yuuri mouthed. Phichit stilled, brow furrowed as he continued to stare up at him.

Yuuri waited a breath before he moved to raise the trident up, both hands gripping the pole tightly, readying himself to plunge it down and --

“Enough!” the queen shouted.

Relief rushed out of Yuuri in a long exhale. Finally.

The trident disappeared in a whisper of silver light, along with the netting keeping Phichit down. Yuuri reached a hand out to him, which Phichit accepted after a pause. He pulled Phichit up, glancing him over to make sure the netting hadn’t left any marks. He looked fine, if not a little disquieted.

“You know I’d never,” Yuuri whispered.

Phichit nodded, wetting his lips. “Still not a great sight to see,” he whispered back.

“I thought I made it clear,” Queen Lilia called out as she approached the two of them, “that I did not want you to take it too far.”

Yuuri bowed. “Forgive me, Your Highness. I got caught up in the moment.”

“Indeed.” She looked the two of them over, her eyes lingering the longest on Yuuri. “Be careful not to let it happen again.”

Yuuri nodded. The queen motioned for Phichit to rejoin Celestino’s side.

She turned back to Yuuri, eyes unwavering and piercing into him. “You’ve proven what you can do and I am satisfied with what I’ve seen,” she said, voice low and private. “It has been a long day for us all and I can only imagine how tired you are. Please take advantage of the accommodations we have prepared for you and get some rest. Tomorrow begins a new day, and with it will be new challenges for us all.”

Yuuri silently nodded again. He felt like he could sleep for a hundred years and still need more rest. He didn’t want to even begin thinking about what ‘tomorrow’ would be like.

His eyes followed the queen as she returned to her family’s side, murmured words passing between her and the king. Prince Yuri was studying Yuuri, scowling like he was puzzling over something and frustrated at the lack of answers.

But that was nothing compared to Prince Viktor, whose face had turned stark white, his teeth biting deep into his bottom lip. The queen said something to him. Whatever it was, it had Viktor turning tail and rushing out of the court and back into the castle. The king called out after him but that didn’t slow Viktor down in the slightest.

Yuuri tore his eyes away. Right. Why was he surprised? Surely he hadn’t hoped, deep down... No, he was a fool to have hoped for anything. Of course the prince would be fearful of him now. First changing into him with all the ease of slipping on a necklace or new earrings, then the fight itself? Nothing else could have come from it.

Yuuri took a deep, shuddering breath. Maybe if he went to sleep, he’d wake up and all of this would turn out to have been one big nightmare. He’d wake up back home, alone and not having made a complete fool of himself in front of everyone.

(Or maybe he just needed to stop ‘hoping’ for much of anything.)

  
\--

  
Viktor heard his name being shouted, heard the raw frustration and demanding in Yakov’s voice, but he only swam faster, nearly colliding with a servant on his way back into the castle. Viktor mumbled a weak apology and kept right on going. His head felt like it was spinning out of control; he needed to get away and _fast_.

There was no way -- he had to be mistaken...

Up ahead he spotted Chris talking with Sara, his own personal royal Sea Witch, waiting by the entrance to his wing of the castle. Viktor’s stomach turned at the sight of her. If he never saw another Sea Witch again in his life, it would be all too soon.

(But that wasn’t fair. Sara was perfectly pleasant and helpful and actually quite charming, not at all unlike their own Phichit.

That didn’t stop Viktor from wanting to turn around on the spot and flee to a completely different part of the castle altogether, though.)

Chris and Sara spotted him and waved him over. Reluctantly Viktor swam over, eyes not quite meeting theirs.

“Finally done, I see,” Chris said. He began to say something else but Viktor caught none of it. His mind was too wrapped up in the mental image of Eros effortlessly changing his body to perfectly mirror Viktor’s, to the way he’d moved across the courtyard, every move calculated, graceful, beautiful... like dancing. But it wasn’t only that. It was also _familiar_.

Take away the weapon, the tattoos, the make-up, and...

Fear shocked Viktor’s insides anew, the same way it had when he’d watched Eros during the fight and first felt the horrible realization dawning upon him.

But it wasn’t true. Couldn’t be.

Chris waved a hand over his face. “Viktor? Are you all right? Do I need to send for someone?”

Viktor shook his head, plastered on a quick and undoubtedly unconvincing smile on his lips. “Just tired. If it’s all right with you, I’m going to retire to my room for a while. I’ll see you later?”

Chris blinked, taken aback. “Of course. If you need anything...”

“I’ll ask the servants,” Viktor answered, ignoring the pout that appeared on Chris’s face. He smiled at Sara. “It was lovely to see you, albiet briefly.”

“You as well, Your Highness. Rest well,” Sara said with a small bow.

Wasting not a moment longer, Viktor continued onwards to his room, swimming faster when he was certain that he was out of sight. He couldn’t get into his room fast enough, though the sound of the door closing and locking behind him was only a small source of relief. He could hide in here now, but what of tomorrow or the day after? Eros was to sleep in his wing of the castle and follow him like a shadow all day long for who knew how long; his parents had him and Eros trapped together.

But then, it wasn’t really Eros.

 _“He doesn’t exist,”_ Eros’ words mocked in his head. _“He never existed.”_

No, Yuuri never existed, Viktor realized, his heart pounding in his chest, and that was simply because Yuuri _was_ Eros.


	3. with a boy like that it's serious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /arrives several months late with a new chapter and starbucks
> 
> Heeeey guys. I'm really sorry how long this one took. After the last chapter my mental health kinda went into the shitter and I ended up pulling a Yuuri Katsuki and avoiding the hell out of this story for a while. I'm one determined person though so I came back! It just took me longer than I would have liked.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading! You can find me over on my personal tumblr (roserelease.tumblr.com) or on my art blog (rosereleasestheart.tumblr.com) where you can find more AU related art. : 3
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> Chapter title comes from "Eros and Apollo" by the Studio Killers~ (And for the curious, I also retroactively went back and added chapter titles to the previous ones.)

It was late that night when Yuuri snuck out of his new room.

After Viktor had disappeared from the court yard, later found in his room and insisting on retiring early for the day, Yuuri was promptly given a tour around the castle. He was shown where the dining room was, the kitchens, the great hall, so many different rooms that Yuuri couldn’t keep track of either the number or their specific uses. The tour guide seemed more than happy to ramble about the castles history, name-dropping past rulers when the opportunity presented itself, Yuuri nodding all the while as it all went in one ear and out the other. Now and then the guide glanced back at him, as if checking to see if he was paying attention. Yuuri smiled politely and gestured for them to continue each time. Better to let someone else do all the talking while he was still reeling from the day he'd had.

Eventually – finally – he was shown his new room. Just several rooms down from Prince Viktor's, Yuuri noted, and near the end of that particular wing of the castle.

It was admittedly pretty nice. A little sparse looking -- by his witchy standards, anyway -- but it was also roomier and better lit than his lonesome and dark cave. It had a large bed, a dresser, a dressing table with a sizable mirror, and even a lounge chair for, well, lounging. Then there was the view of the breath-taking coral reef garden from the window. The garden was considered the castles pride and joy by many, the tour guide boasted. It contained coral reef from all over the ocean that had been magicked into the ground and was tended to on a daily basis.

Yuuri paused by the window, casting a glance over the view. It was certainly a more interesting one than back home. It did nothing to relieve the tension in his shoulders or the tightness in his chest, though.

“Is everything to your liking?” the tour guide asked. Yuuri hardly missed the way the guides eyes roamed his form out of the corner of his eye. The extra attention was making his tentacles twitch.

Yuuri turned back to them and smiled, ignoring the way the guide's eyes widened and their cheeks reddened. “What more could one ask for?” he replied, cheeks almost hurting from how forced his smile was.

Dinner was offered shortly after the tour but Yuuri declined. He gave some white lie about needing some rest after the long day he'd had, and thankfully no one questioned him any further on the matter. He was left to his own devices for the remainder of the evening.

But there was only so many hours of restless tossing and turning on his bed he could do before he got so sick of it that he needed to get up and do _something_.

He really needed to talk to someone.

Which was what led him to, for the second time that day, making the decision to sneak around the castle.

(No one said he couldn't leave his room when he wasn't watching after the prince, he reasoned as he opened his bedroom door and closed it quietly behind him. He could play innocent if he got caught.)

Yuuri paused by Viktor’s room on his way out, heart beating violently against his rib cage as he gazed upon the closed door. Just beyond that door was Viktor, most likely deep asleep by now. In spite of this Yuuri half-expected the door to be thrown open, the prince to suddenly appear and... what? Demand where he was going? Tell him to get back to his room before anyone noticed?

(Maybe offer his hand, gentle and warm, and ask to talk?)

But the door remained closed and no one came out to demand what he was doing.

Yuuri inhaled shakily, steeling himself as he glamoured himself invisible and continued on his way.

Thanks to the tour he’d received earlier it was no trouble finding Phichit’s wing of the castle. It didn't look all that different from the rest of the castle, at least not until you drew closer to the main room Phichit used to practice his magic. The castle's decor mainly consisted of complimentary shades of pink, purple, and white, with shells and sheer drapery often hanging on the walls and along the doors and windows. Everything was soft, soft, soft, a stark contrast to the decidedly unyielding and hard nature of the royal family themselves.

Phichit's aesthetic was altogether different. Blues dominated his colour scheme, along with warm earthy tones to help balance it out. He loved to hang long threads of glittery beads in doorways and along windows (something Yuuri had admittedly gotten from Phichit when he'd designed his own cave), and he had a strange habit of holding onto various knick-knacks he picked up from all over the ocean.

“ _They're a good conversation starter!”_ Phichit had defended when Yuuri asked why he insisted on keeping what appeared to be the helm of a long-lost ship they'd found once on their travels. _“And conversation sets people at ease. We can't have a customer feeling out of place. Magic works best when everyone feels at home.”_

Though there were a handful guards on duty, none seemed to sense him, so Yuuri passed them by undetected and continued on until he came to the same room he’d met Phichit in earlier that day. He had no idea if Phichit was even still there at that hour of night, but he didn’t know where Phichit slept either, and he really couldn’t wait until morning...

Yuuri entered the room and smiled at the sight of his friend, releasing the breath he'd been holding. Thankfully Phichit _was_ still there, busying himself organizing various sealed glass jars, though oddly silent. Back when they'd lived together Phichit was always making some sort of noise: humming under his breath while he worked, thinking out loud when a new problem puzzled him. He barely made a sound now, other than a short grunt when he lifted his arms above his head and gave himself a good bone-popping stretch.

Yuuri pulled the glamour away from his body and cleared his throat. “Phichit?”

Phichit nearly knocked over a few jars on the table next to him as he bumped into it; his tentacles shot out to grab them before they could descend towards the floor. He spun around, mouth opened to say something, but he paused when he saw it was just Yuuri.

Phichit ran a hand through his hair. “Wow, twice in one day? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Yuuri rubbed his arm, suddenly unable to meet Phichit's questioning stare. Was he on edge as well? Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe Phichit didn't feel like talking. “I just... I felt that we should talk. About what happened today.”

Phichit stared back at him, silent, teeth tugging at his bottom lip.

Yuuri took a deep breath. Well, he was already here so he might as well continue. He opened his mouth to begin his apology, only to be beaten to it by Phichit abruptly blurting out, “I'm sorry!”

Yuuri shook his head. “No, no, _I'm_ sorry --”

“But you didn't even do anything wrong!”

“Are you kidding? I – ”

Phichit held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I know where this is going, so lets just say we're both sorry and leave it at that. Today was... a mess. A huge mess. And I don't care what you say, I am partly to blame for that, so no arguing with me.”

Yuuri winced. “But if I'd handled it better—”

Phichit pointed at him. “Hey! What did I just say?”

“I'm just taking responsibility for my end of things,” Yuuri countered with a small smile.

Phichit narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He shook his head and went back to shelving the jars his tentacles were still holding. “So. Couldn't sleep, huh?”

“From the looks of it, I'd say I wasn't the only one,” Yuuri replied as he swam up beside his friend, casually examining the contents of one of the jars on the table. He wanted to say more, but where to even begin? The day being a 'huge mess' felt like the understatement of the century.

Phichit snorted. “I'll say. I'm so full of nervous energy right now, I could probably stay awake all week. I'm gonna be exhausted tomorrow, but I've kinda just accepted it at this point. Tomorrow will suck, and water is wet.” He shrugged, tapping his fingertips against the stopper of the jar in his hands. “Um. How are you doing by the way? Physically, I mean. I didn't go too hard on you, did I?”

Yuuri shook his head. He'd long since magicked the small bruises away, and from the looks of it Phichit had as well. “No more than I did with you.”

Phichit's brow furrowed. “I didn't _want_ to do it,” he said. “Not really. I mean, I was starting to have fun in the middle there, I won't lie. It was like old times. I kind of forgot myself in it. But you know I didn't really want to fight you, don't you?”

Yuuri smiled softly at him. “I know. I'm not holding anything against you.”

“Not even me leading Viktor to where you were?”

Yuuri paused. “That's...”

“Please don't day 'that's different.' _Please_ just get mad at me. I can deal with angry you, what I can't deal with is 'resigned' you.”

“I'm _too tired_ to get mad at you,” Yuuri admitted quietly. He swam over to one of the seats by the wall and sat down, needing to feel something solid beneath himself while he sorted himself out. His hands fidgeted with themselves in his lap, several of his tentacles following suit and toying with themselves as well. “It hasn't even really hit me yet, this whole situation. I'm probably going to wake up tomorrow screaming, but for now it's all just a haze that I'm drifting through. How can I yell at you when none of this feels real yet?”

Phichit nodded. “Yuuri, if you want to leave...”

“No.”

“I'm just saying—”

“ _No._ And get us both in more trouble? I can handle this. It will only be for a little while. I have nothing to hide, the Queen will see that, and then I'll be free to go and it will be like nothing happened at all.”

Phichit pursed his lips. “Is that what you honestly think or are you trying to convince both of us that it's gonna be that simple?”

Yuuri ignored the clenching in his gut. “Just let me try and pretend this isn't as bad as it really is, okay?”

Phichit fell quiet, and for a long moment neither of them said anything. There was just the soft clinks of glass jars being shelved, the continued pounding of Yuuri's heart in his chest as he mentally reviewed the days events over and over in his head.

“They're going to put you to work tomorrow,” Phichit said, glancing over his shoulder at Yuuri. “The king and queen want to know who you are, but they're just as interested in you keeping an eye on Viktor too.”

Yuuri looked up at him. “So that wasn't just something they made up to try and trick me into staying?”

Phichit shook his head. “If I'm being honest – and don't tell anyone I told you this – but there's a lot of problems here. Family problems, I guess you could say. Viktor's behaviour is just the most obvious symptom. I saw how he was around you at the banquet, and believe me when I say that's not how he usually is. Not that I'm an expert or anything. But from what I've seen he's more like... like a ghost. Just floating from one place to another. He's been like that for a long time now, at least since I've gotten here.”

Yuuri swallowed. “I see.”

“I guess he can't stand it anymore,” Phichit continued, “since he's always taking off. Remember Princess Sasha all those years ago? There's no way that hasn't crossed everyone's minds. It must be why the king and queen want you to watch him so closely. They've got to be worried about where this could lead. ”

Yuuri nodded, quietly processing. He remembered when he'd heard that Princess Sasha, daughter of King Nikolai and heir to the throne to the kingdom in the east, had gone missing. There were endless theories and speculations about how and why, but at the end of the day no one had any answers, only the fact that she'd disappeared and whispered rumours that the days leading up to her disappearance were fraught with tension and in-family fighting. She'd simply vanished, leaving behind nothing but grief and an only child in her wake: Prince Yuri.

Yuuri groaned. Gods, he hadn't even considered that. Of course the king and queen would be on edge about Viktor taking off whenever and wherever he pleased given what had already happened before. The kingdom loved Viktor, but the ocean was a big and sometimes chaotic place, anything could happen – and that wasn't taking into account the apparently careless whims of the prince himself.

What a mess to get caught into, and all because he couldn't _stay away._

Yuuri buried his face into his hands. Breathe. He needed to _breathe_.

“Hey.”

Yuuri lifted his head. Phichit was at his side now, gazing down at him. He lifted a hand. After an accepting nod from Yuuri, Phichit gently rested said hand on his shoulder. He didn't move his hand, just simply let it sit there, grounding Yuuri in the present moment, a silent reminder.

“ _I'm_ here for you,” Phichit said, voice quiet but strong, determined. “You're not alone. It's going to be a rough ride, but we'll get through this together. And if things get too bad...”

“No, Phichit.”

“It's _okay_ , really. You mean way more to me than this job. I'll just come up with a new identity and go work way out south or something. Just watch them try and stop me.”

A breathy, borderline humorless laugh escaped Yuuri. “You won't have to because it's not going to happen. I'm not going to screw this up anymore than I already have.”

Phichit dropped his hand from Yuuri's shoulder, his expression pensive.

Yuuri bit his lip. “But... thank you. For thinking of me anyway.”

A small smile uncurled across Phichit's lips. “Anytime. I'll always have your back. Don't be scared to lean on me when you need to.”

Yuuri nodded, accepting those words regardless of whether he believed them in that moment or not. He knew Phichit meant them and that was all that really mattered. No matter what, he wouldn't let Phichit down. He wouldn't make anymore trouble for anyone else – he'd handle this on his own.

  

\--

 

Viktor didn't sleep a wink.

He tossed and turned all night, his thoughts racing, replaying everything over and over again as if he would find new and undiscovered evidence if he only thought about the days events harder. But his brain kept returning to the same thought again and again: Yuuri was Eros and Eros was Yuuri, and he was sleeping just several rooms down the hall from him.

Again and again, he asked himself _why?_

Before Viktor knew it morning had arrived and his attendants were entering his room on schedule, smiling and wishing him a good morning like they always did, and right behind them was Yuuri himself. Hands clasped before him, expression carefully neutral. No bags under his eyes, not a single hair out of place, make-up effortlessly applied. He looked beautiful, scarily so.

Yuuri's flawless appearance taunted him. How could he sleep through the night so peacefully after all that had happened, or was this just more magic at play?

Questions caught in Viktor's throat like fish entangled in a binding net.

“How would Your Highness like his hair done today?” one attendant asked. Two others guided him over to the large mirror hanging on the wall.

Viktor couldn't shake off the tingling feeling of Yuuri's eyes following him – or was he watching? Did he dare check? “Surprise me,” Viktor said absentmindedly, the answer he gave most mornings.

His attendants loved playing with his hair. Due to its sheer length, they could do just about anything with it. He used to love seeing what they came up with, wearing whatever style they created with pride. That felt like a lifetime ago.

His attendants went with something simple that morning, pulling his hair into a long and elegant fishtail braid. They fawned as they always did over the softness of his hair, how easily it twisted together. After the braiding was done they went ahead and picked a pair of earrings and one of Viktor's fancier combs, which they slid right into his hair above his right ear. Beaming, they asked what he thought.

“It's lovely,” Viktor replied, eyes carefully trained forward and not at all glancing at the reflection of Yuuri in the mirror.

The attendants took their leave and he went to breakfast afterwards, Yuuri trailing silently behind him. His family were already in the dining hall by the time he arrived, as well as Phichit, Chris, his newly wedded husband Masumi, Sara, and the members of Chris' entourage. Viktor took his seat in-between Queen Lilia and Chris, offering a small, tired smile in Chris' direction. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Yuuri was led down to the other side of the table, next to where Phichit and Sara sat.

“He's a cutie,” Chris whispered to him.

Several servants appeared, carrying with them a variety of fish skewers for everyone to choose from. Viktor waited until they were gone before he answered. “Who knows, maybe.”

“Oh, there's no 'maybe' about it. He's a real looker. It's okay, Viktor. You're allowed to compliment your rescuer. I'd even encourage it. It's like something out of those stories you love so much.”

Viktor picked idly at the skewer he'd chosen. His stomach felt too full from dread to even entertain the idea of putting food in it.

Chris leaned in, whispered again, “What's gotten into you? What haven't you told me?”

Inadvertently Viktor's eyes went straight down the table to Yuuri.

 

 

 

He looked almost stiff next to everyone else, like he couldn't quite relax. Next to him Phichit was talking, saying something that had Sara laughing.

“What would you do if you liked someone but realized you don't know anything about them?” he whispered. “What if they lied to you and you found out by accident?”

“Date them anyway and see what happens,” Chris answered without missing a beat, taking a bite of fish.

Viktor frowned at him, uncertain if Chris was being serious or if he was just yanking his tail. “Are you forgetting the part about lying or would that really not concern you?”

“Well, that depends on what kind of lie it is. Did they _actually_ lie to you or did you just discover something about them that they hadn't told you yet? Was a malicious lie or a white lie? Context matters, my dear.”

“...I don't know,” Viktor admitted. He hadn't thought of it like that. But hiding your true identity behind a false one was a pretty big lie to tell – and keep telling – though which one was the 'real' Yuuri, Viktor was still completely unsure of. He pinched the bride of his nose; his head was beginning to hurt. The lack of sleep sure wasn't helping. “I'm not sure I know anything right now.”

“Then stop jumping to conclusions and find out the answers for yourself. Is this about your mystery lover? What exactly happened yesterday?”

Viktor shook his head. What could he tell without giving away information he'd promised to keep quiet, information he didn't properly understand and thus shouldn't spread irresponsibly? “I ran away, I met Eros, I was brought back. That's all,” he said.

Chris clucked his tongue. “You really expect me to believe that?”

“It's all I can say.”

Chris sighed, took another bite of his meal. “You're lucky I'm such a wonderful, understanding being or I'd be way more impatient about this than I am right now. But you're home safe and sound, so I guess I'll just have to be okay with that for now.”

Viktor wished he could be satisfied with just that too.

Chris was set to leave straight after breakfast. His husband had work to do elsewhere, tending to foreign affairs for the betterment of Chris' kingdom, and given that they hadn't been married all that long Chris was eager to follow and be good company.

“It's almost like a honeymoon,” Chris teased, arm wrapped around Masumi's as they swam to the courtyard. “Though I'm sure we'll have a real one soon enough.”

Viktor carefully kept his eyes deflected. He was happy for his friend, he really was. It just wasn't easy to watch your best friend living the dream life while you were hopelessly confused about your own.

Chris hugged Viktor good and tight while Sara prepared the magic portal to their next destination behind them. “You'll call for me if things get bad again?” he asked in Viktor's ear.

Deep down Viktor knew he wouldn't, but he nodded all the same, if only to appease his friend and keep him from worrying. “Of course.”

Somehow that made Chris hold him tighter, as if he could squeeze a real answer out of him, but eventually he let go. He waited until Sara had finished saying her good-byes, kisses and all, to her lover Mila before he gestured for everyone to follow him through the portal. The last to leave was Sara herself, who bowed and blew a kiss to everyone as she swam through, the portal shrinking and closing behind her.

Viktor wrapped his arms around himself as the reality of his trusted friend leaving sunk in. He wished Chris could have stayed longer, what wouldn't he have given to have Chris close by while he dealt with his newfound troubles? But what could he have told Chris that he hadn't already? There was no one he could talk to about this, not really. Viktor took a deep, shuddering breath. He was in over his head, and he was alone.

 

 

\--

 

Yuuri barely bit back a sudden yawn; he covered his mouth politely with the back of his hand and was momentarily glad that he was completely alone for the time being.

He had expected tension and awkwardness with his new job. What he hadn't expected was for it to be so _boring_.

Every morning he woke up early and would go to Viktor's room, where he'd watch the same group of attendants pamper and prep Viktor for the day. Then he would follow Viktor all about the castle, hanging around while Viktor went about his royal business. Meanwhile servants, guards, and nobility would stare at him from afar but always glance away if he paid them any attention, leaving Yuuri with the distinct impression that he was some exotic pet for everyone to gawk at. The thought irked him more than he liked to admit.

Eventually it would time for dinner, where he'd uncomfortably dine with the royal family. Though truth be told the food was _amazing,_ once he got over his shyness enough to eat in front of them. (Or maybe it was more accurate to say that his hunger got the better of said shyness.) He'd gotten to try so many foreign fish the royal family had imported in, it easily beat the meals he used to have when he was on his own.

Sometimes small talk was made or general questions were asked of him, but for the most part everyone left him alone. But the royal family didn't seem to talk to each other very much either outside of pleasantries, so maybe it wasn't entirely personal. Or that could be because a stranger was among them now and they didn't want to reveal anything too personal about themselves with him around.

( _Or_ maybe he was overthinking things again.)

Once dinner ended Viktor would then promptly retire to his room for the night, leaving Yuuri to do the same. That wouldn't have been so bad except that it left him to sit and stress in his room for the remainder of the evening, until he eventually worried himself into a restless sleep.

And then he would wake up the next morning to more of the same. And the next, and the next...

Before Yuuri knew it, almost a week had passed.

He'd barely exchanged more than a handful of words with Viktor in all that time. Every now and then Yuuri caught Viktor looking at him from afar, but when he did Viktor would immediately turn away, like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have been. Each time Yuuri caught him he felt another piece of his heart break off. It only drove home just how utterly ridiculous their meeting had actually been. If Yuuri had learned anything over the past week, it was just how impossible the whole scenario had been, how absurd and foolish his fantasies and desires were.

Yuuri suppressed another yawn. A week in of his new routine and he was tired, restless, and itching to use magic. He hadn't had the opportunity to do much outside of readying himself for the day to come and he was really beginning to feel the irritation that came with holding back. Not that there was much he could do about it now. What could he do when he was stuck waiting around all day like he was doing now?

Yuuri cracked his knuckles, savouring the loud pop that cut through the silence. Viktor was still in the middle of a meeting with someone and who knew how much longer he'd be? At least the day was almost over. Another day down, another day closer to freedom.

...He hoped.

Soft voices suddenly floated down the hallway towards him, followed by a loud shushing.

Yuuri glanced down the hall. A couple of heads were poking out from around the corner. Several pairs of bright and large eyes were peering down the hallway at him. One head disappeared back behind the corner with a loud gasp, only to reappear seconds later.

Oh, children. Yuuri recalled seeing a couple of them around the castle throughout the duration of the week. Usually they were alongside an adult who kept them close by, being ushered to a different part of the castle, so he'd really only seen them briefly and from afar.

Yuuri and the children continued to watch each other from afar until one of the children stretched out a hand and waved at him.

Yuuri couldn't help but crack a smile. After a long week of almost constant silence, it was nice that someone was treating him like a normal being. He waved back.

“There you are! What in the world are you doing?” someone called out from behind the children. They swam into view and Yuuri instantly recognized the newcomer as Mila, one of the mermaids he'd met at the banquet. A friend of Viktor's, he recalled, and one of the nobility.

Mila put her hands on her hips and gave the children a stern look. “You know you're not supposed to swim off like this. Georgi's going to be upset if you're late to your lessons _again_. I searched this whole castle for you!”

“This is more important than lessons!” one child insisted, one hand pointing at Yuuri.

Mila's eyes followed where the child was pointing. “What's more important than... Oh! Hi there!” She waved at Yuuri, expression becoming warm and welcoming. Without hesitation she swam over, the children following closely behind her. “I'm sorry, we haven't met before have we?” She smiled brightly and offered her hand. “I'm Mila. It's a pleasure! And these two are Tanya and Misha.” She patted the heads of the children, one after the other, as she named them. “Please don't mind their bad manners, they're still learning.”

One of the children huffed loudly.

“Eros,” Yuuri replied, accepting the offered hand and giving it a shake. “It's a pleasure as well.”

Mila's grin turned mischievous. “Sooo. How are you liking it here?”

“It's... certainly different.”

“Not like where you're from I bet. Where is that by the way?”

“Oh, just around.”

Mila's eyebrows rose. “Not much for specifics, are you? That's okay, folks around here love a good mystery. I bet you get stares all day long.”

Yuuri gave a noncommittal shrug.

Mila chuckled. “Please don't take it personally, they don't mean you any offense. But really, how can they not stare at you all day? Someone should tell them you're more gorgeous up close, maybe then they'd relax and actually come say hi." When Yuuri said nothing in response, Mila quicklt added, "Y'know, you're just as Sara described. Do you remember her? She told me you two met before she left.”

Yuuri blinked. The Sea Witch he'd met at breakfast earlier that week? “Long-hair? Light freckles? Jellyfish?”

“Uh huh! My girlfriend – she's a cutie too, isn't she? Sara said she only got to chat with you over breakfast but she said you were polite, if a little standoffish.”

Yuuri's eyebrows pinched together. “You mean... you're dating her?”

“Mmhmm. Why, is that so unbelievable?”

“Ah, well, it's not really heard of,” Yuuri admitted. Sea Witches dating each other? Sure, he'd heard of that. But for someone non-magical to be eager to date a Sea Witch? “Usually non-magical merfolk get a little antsy about dating someone magical,” he clarified, suddenly feeling foolish with Mila's steady and patient gaze resting upon him.

Mila gave a small, flippant wave of her hand. “Oh, I don't care about that. That's such an old-fashioned way at looking at things. She's great at what she does and I'm proud of her for it. That's all there is to it. Plus, sometimes I get spells for kisses. That's win-win in my opinion.”

Yuuri nodded, not entirely sure he was processing her words very well. “I... see.”

“Do you have any tricks?” Tanya spoke up. Both children were staring straight up at Yuuri with large, hopeful eyes, like he'd already promised them a treat and they were eagerly awaiting its delivery.

“Phichit does tricks!” Misha added.

Mila laughed. “Hey now, what are the magic words to get what you want?”

“Oh. Uh, please!” Misha rushed out.

Mila looked up at Yuuri and smiled. “You really don't have to,” she said in a hushed voice, “these two are just really spoiled. We should probably take our leave now anyway.”

“It's all right,” Yuuri assured her. He had been complaining about the lack of magical opportunities, hadn't he? It wouldn't hurt anyone to figuratively stretch out his tentacles and have a little fun. If anything it could be gift for the first three to break the large gap between him and the rest of the castle. He'd gladly perform for them.

Yuuri bent himself so he was closer to the children's level. He held out his hands, clasped together, before them. Warmth and silver light filled the tight space in between them, said light just barely peaking through the crevices of his fingers and palms.

“Keep your eyes on my hands,” he instructed. The children nodded and did as told, attention completely honed in on his hands.

Slowly, with just a hint of dramatic flair, Yuuri spread his hands open and held them out flat. Crawling across his palms were several small wriggling creatures.

Misha gasped. “What're _those?_ ”

“Caterpillars,” Yuuri explained. “They live on land and eat plants. They eat and eat until they're ready to transform. Ah – it looks like they're ready to change now.”

He raised his hands and turned them upside down. The caterpillars hung from his palms, squirming as they entered the next stage of their lives. The children watched with gaping mouths as the caterpillars formed a new barrier over their bodies and slowly stilled.

“Are they dead?”

“Not exactly,” Yuuri said. “Wait just a moment... there they go.”

Within seconds the creatures hanging from his palms began to move once more, pushing against the walls of their chrysalis to find freedom. Openings cracked through the walls, wings gradually pushing through as the new creatures began to crawl out. They were iridescent, blues, pinks, and purples shimmering throughout their bodies as they moved all over Yuuri's hands.

“These charming little things are called butterflies,” Yuuri said, a new warmth unfurling inside him at the amazement glittering in the children's eyes. He couldn't recall the last time someone had watched him play around with his magic with such open awe.

Tanya met his eyes, hand lifting but pausing, itching to touch. “Can I...?”

Yuuri nodded. With a wave of his hands, he released the butterflies from his hold, sending them off in different directions. They fluttered all around the children, moving just fast enough to keep out of their reach. Squealing with delight, the children chased after them with grasping hands, shouting to each other as they tried and failed to catch even one.

“Wow, look at them go,” said Mila as she watched them play. She snickered when one of them almost swam into the wall, though that didn't stop them at all as they turned and kept right on pursuing. “You really didn't have to do that you know. Now they'll want tricks every time they see you.”

Yuuri nodded, smiling softly to himself. “I know. I just wanted to.”

Something as simple as this – it had felt good. Just a touch of magic and he'd brought someone joy, as well as eased some of the itch beneath his skin. No harm done.

Yuuri caught movement out of the corner of his eye; he turned towards the doorway he had been waiting near and tried to calm the sudden thudding of his heart.

Prince Viktor was frozen in the doorway and staring at him like he'd never seen him before. 

 

\--

 

Eros – Yuuri – was playing with the children.

It was a little hard for Viktor to wrap his head around it, to put it bluntly.

Who was Yuuri; who was Eros?

Viktor had spent all week ruminating on it, the question “who are you?” always on the tip of his tongue whenever he looked at the Sea Witch that hung around the corners of rooms, always just out of eye sight, but close by, always close. Viktor could never get the words out, no matter how hard he yearned for a definitive answer. Maybe he was scared of what that answer would be, if it would reveal something about their time together that he wouldn't be able to accept.

The thought made Viktor want to laugh bitterly. The reality of how far he'd fallen and how desperate he truly was for something that, perhaps, hadn't even been real to begin with heavy on his shoulders.

_Was it all a lie? Was it all a trick? Were you laughing at me the whole time?_

Did he want to know?

Viktor brought a hand up over his heart, where he felt it beating loud and strongly deep inside.

Seeing Yuuri as he was now... it reminded Viktor think of their time together. Fondly so. 

 

 

The way Yuuri smiled at the children, the crinkling around his eyes, the ease of his posture, not once during the past week had Yuuri ever looked so relaxed, so in the moment. He seemed so much more like the Yuuri he remembered from before. The Yuuri that laughed when Viktor had eaten something a little too fast, that had smiled and said _“I'll buy it for you”_ when Viktor had been browsing the goods at the market and just happened upon a cute bracelet at a jewellery stall. Viktor had insisted that he'd just been looking, that he really didn't need anything, but Yuuri wasn't listening.

“ _The colour looks nice on you,”_ he'd said, eyes carefully trained on the bracelet as he handed it over to him, too shy to meet Viktor's eyes.

Just thinking about it now warmed Viktor's cheeks. Something so simple, almost childlike in its innocence, and yet it had touched him all the same. How someone he barely knew could be so selfless with him, so considerate and sweet, so so sweet. Not because he was royalty, not to get something out of it in return, but because he wanted to please him.

Viktor hadn't realized how much he ached for something so simple and genuine until he'd met Yuuri.

Watching Yuuri as he was now was only reminding him just how much so. Like digging his fingers into a week old bruise, reminding him that oh yes, that pain still exists, it still hurts, and it's from something he yearned for so badly.

Yuuri appeared nothing like the stiff and hyper-vigilante Sea Witch from the past week, who floated nearby but whose eyes were always staring far off into the distance. Nothing like the intimidating and intense Sea Witch Viktor had met far, far away in a dark cave, who had spat out that there was _nothing_ from Viktor that he would ever want.

Viktor rested against the doorway and just... watched. Took in the scene and all its little details. The hushed words Mila and Yuuri exchanged that he couldn't quite make out, the children's laughter. The way the silver light emitting from the creatures danced across everyone's features, softening Yuuri's considerably, making his eyes twinkle, his painted lips practically shine. What were the children even chasing? Viktor had never seen such creatures before. They were beautiful, whatever they were. Yuuri had created those? He wouldn't have expected that out of something like Eros, who looked tall and dark and mysterious. He stood out too much against everything around him, refusing to blend into the soft pinks and purples surrounding him, though he appeared gentle now. But the more chilling traits were all a part of him, just as much as the calm and pleasant vision he was witnessing now, were they not?

Now that Viktor was looking at Yuuri, _really_ looking at him, was “Eros” really all that scary? He was a touch intimidating, a man of few words and with a piercing gaze to match, but scary? The children certainly didn't seem to think so, and Viktor heard what everyone around the castle was whispering about their new guest – a lot of questions and speculations, but all from a place of curiosity and interest, not fear. More than once an attendant had whispered to him about how handsome his rescuer is, how nice it was to have him stay as their guest. He hadn't known how to respond to that, hadn't really wanted to think about it, but how could he deny that now?

Viktor bit his lip as he studied Yuuri from afar. For all of his quick glances and pondering, he'd never really _looked_ at him, never really let himself think past the initial shock. He hadn't given himself the chance to consider the situation from more than one hurt and betrayed angle.

Was he missing something?

 _Did_ he want to know?

For the first time in a week Viktor didn't avert his attention when Yuuri glanced his way. His heart pounded in his ears, a whisper in the back of his head urging that it wasn't too late to turn and swim away, but he paid it no mind. Rather, he swam forward instead, approaching Yuuri and Mila like there hadn't been a weeks worth of silence and tension between them.

Viktor nodded towards the creatures fluttering about. “Are those your doing?”

Yuuri stared at him, eyes wide and silver lips pressed together. Viktor swore he heard him swallow. Eventually Yuuri nodded, turning back to the playing children. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“They're nice,” Viktor commented.

“Aren't they?” Mila chimed in, hands clapped together. “What curious little things. I've never heard of a 'butterfly' before, have you?”

Viktor shook his head. “What part of the ocean are they from?”

“They're from land, actually,” Yuuri answered after a pause, eyes trained forward. His hands were fidgeting at his sides.

Viktor's eyebrows rose. “You've been to land?”

Another pause. Then, “Yes.”

“You'll have to tell us all about it sometime,” Mila replied. “I'd love to hear some stories. I'm sure everyone would, right Vitya?”

“Certainly.” Yuuri could visit land? Interesting. Not just anyone could do that. What else could he do?

Mila clapped her hands to grab the children's attention. “Okay, that's enough messing around! If we don't get going we're going to be really late to your lessons.”

At her words Yuuri waved his hand through the water, the butterflies evaporating into small explosions of silver bubbles. The children whined and pouted, but after some coaxing they were bowing and thanking Yuuri for the fun magic trick. After a quick exchange of good-byes, Mila escorted them away, the three of them disappearing as they turned around the corner.

Yuuri floated silently next to Viktor, eyes on the floor, hands toying with themselves.

“Thank you for entertaining them,” Viktor said. He watched as a faint blue blush unfurled across Yuuri's cheeks, so different from the pink one he'd seen when Yuuri had presented himself as a regular merperson. Viktor tilted his head as he studied the Sea Witch next to him, wondering what else was different between then and now.

“I-It was no trouble,” Yuuri mumbled.

“Would you have done it anyway if it was?” Viktor pressed, curious.

Yuuri's brow creased. “We'll be late to your next meeting, Your Highness. We really should get going.”

Too much? That was just a touch disappointing, but he could wait. He'd avoided Yuuri all week, it was only to be expected that he would be hesitant to answer more personal questions to someone who would barely look at him. It was Viktor's fault, honestly. Maybe if he hadn't reacted the way he had...

(Or maybe if he hadn't swam straight into something he didn't understand and create such a mess for Yuuri to deal with as a result. Hmm. It seemed he had quite a bit more thinking left to do.)

Viktor nodded. “You're right. Let us carry on then.”

Part of him wished he knew then what he knew now. Would he had made a different choice? Probably not, if he was being totally honest. Just something about Yuuri drew him in with the force of a whirlpool, and deep down he wanted to be sucked in, lose himself completely. But if he'd known even half of what he did now, he could have made a decision that _didn't_ hurt the one he desired most. They wouldn't be stuck where they were now – they wouldn't be looking at each other like they were complete strangers.

Ah, but there was only so much wishing Viktor could do. What he needed now was action. He could feel it now, ideas bubbling inside. He'd fix this – he'd do everything he could to mend this as best he could.

_I don't really know you – but I think I want to._

 

\--

 

Phichit didn't know what to think when the guards suddenly appeared in his doorway one day in the later hours of the evening, informing him that he was to meet Prince Viktor in his royal chambers. Privately.

“He wants to see me?” Phichit echoed back, feeling his blood turn to ice in his veins.

“I'm sorry, I don't know anymore than that,” the guard said. They cleared their throat and motioned for Phichit to follow them. “Please, come this way.”

 _That's it, I'm losing my job,_ Phichit thought as he was escorted to the other end of the castle. Except that didn't make any sense, nothing out of the ordinary had happened lately, and anything to do with Yuuri's sudden appearance at the castle had been dealt with a week ago, hadn't it? And it wouldn't be the prince who would give him the bad news, or he assumed as much. He had a pretty good rapport with the king and queen; if he was no longer of use to them, then they would have that conversation with him.

So what could the prince possibly want with him? Viktor never called on him – except for little over a week ago, when Viktor had come to visit for the first time, when...

Phichit grit his teeth. Not this again.

Well, Viktor had another thing coming then if he thought Phichit was going to be an accomplice a second time. There was no way he was making the same mistake twice, his job be damned. He wouldn't hurt Yuuri a second time.

The guards brought him right up to the door of one of Viktor's rooms – a suite used for privately entertaining guests. One of the guards knocked several times. An attendant opened the door, bowing courteously as they floated backwards and made room for Phichit to enter. He sucked in his breath and held it as he entered, the door closing as the attendant left the room, leaving no one but Phichit and the prince himself.

Well, good. If he was going to set the record straight, then best not to have an audience.

Viktor sat at a table near the window, chin resting on his hands. His hair was carefully braided for the night, resting over one shoulder, and all of the accessories and jewellery he normally wore throughout the day had been put away for the night. He was smiling up at Phichit like they were old friends who were meeting at the end of a long day to discuss the days events, like he wasn't about to ask far too much of him. Honestly, it made Phichit want to give a good hard yank on Viktor's braid and demand to know just what exactly was going through that pretty head of his for him to think a second attempt at chasing Yuuri was a good idea.

Viktor straightened in his seat. “Ah, there you are. I was beginning to wonder when you would arrive.” He gestured for him to take the seat opposite him. “Please, make yourself at home. I have something I'd like to discuss with you.”

“Oh no,” Phichit began. “Oh no, no, no, no. We are _not_ doing this again.”

Viktor's mouth fell open, momentarily at a loss for words. “I beg your pardon?”

“ _This._ ” Phichit spread his hands out wide as if to try and encapsulate all of the nonsense that had already gone underway. “This chasing after mer-booty that you're currently obsessed with. I'm not helping you anymore!”

“What?” Viktor's cheeks turned a faint pink, though if it was out of embarrassment over being called out or some private memory of his lover boy, Phichit didn't care. “No, _no_ , it's not what you think, I promise.”

“It's not?” Phichit's eyes narrowed. “Then why did you send for me, if not to try and chase some tail?”

A long stretch of silence followed. Viktor stared up at him blankly, his face completely unreadable.

 “You don't trust me. I don't blame you,” Viktor stated, like it was simply fact. Or an issue he was preparing himself to deal with. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear, eyes momentarily downcast. “Especially not after what happened last time. I take full responsibility for the mess I've created.”

Did he now? Viktor didn't exactly sound remorseful... but he didn't sound proud of himself either, and although he was dressed down for the night, Viktor sure sat there like he was ready to get down to business, shoulders back, attention completely on his guest and the task at hand. Huh.

“Oookay then,” Phichit drawled, suddenly unsure of how to read the room.

The polite smile from earlier returned. The prince trying to turn the charm on to encourage him to play along after all?

“If it's not asking too much,” Viktor began, “I just have some questions. And an idea. One that I'd preferably like your help with so that it's as successful as possible. It's my way of repairing some of the damage I've done.”

“Damage with _what?_ ” Phichit pressed. Viktor could talk big all he wanted, it didn't mean anything if he wasn't specific, if he wasn't recognizing what (or whom) had been hurt.

Viktor's smile widened. He indicated again towards the empty seat across him. “Sit down and we can talk all about it. If my hunch is right, then I think you'll want a part in this.”

“Oh, I would, would I?” Phichit ran a hand over his face, eyes closed momentarily as he felt the hook of Viktor's words catch right into him and begin to reel him in. _What_ would he want in a part in? The nosy part of him wanted to at least know what the prince was up to this time. Maybe stop him, if it meant preventing something worse than last time. It would be the responsible thing to do, wouldn't it? Especially if it involved Yuuri at all. Then he was obligated to at least hear him out. You can't prevent what you have no knowledge of, after all.

(Assuming of course Viktor didn't have a good idea that should indeed happen. Perhaps he did.)

“... Alright, fine. You got me.” Phichit let out a long, exasperated sigh. He was caught completely. He swam over to the empty seat and sat down, making a small show of getting perfectly settled down. He stared across the table and straight into Viktor's eyes, unwavering. “Okay. So what do you have in mind, Your Highness?”

Something about Viktor's expression changed, something slight, almost undetectable, but if Phichit had to guess it might have been relief. He rested his chin on his hands once again, head tilted slightly. “Thank you. I really appreciate you doing this. I promise that you will be fully compensated for it.”

“I don't care about that,” Phichit stated. “It's not why I sat down.”

Viktor chuckled. “Well, fair enough. You will be anyways. But before we get into my idea, I'd like to ask you something.”

“And that is?”

“I want you to tell me all that you know about Sea Witches.”

 


	4. I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title comes from “White Flag” by Dido. The title of this chapter applies to everyone in this AU except me. I am actively trying to make their lives harder. Sorry Yuuri/Viktor/Yurio/the entire AU! I kinda sorta mean well!
> 
> The art in this fic is inspired by shadow puppets. (More specifically I was inspried by one of my other all-time favourite anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena, but that's where they got that from so /shrugs). I thought it'd add to the whole flashback/fairy tale aesthetic. If there's more flashbacks like this then I may do it all again.
> 
> THIS CHAPTER IS 22 PAGES LONG, JFC. I hope that makes up for the wait. I'm going away to a convention this weekend starting on Thursday, so if you comment and I don't get back to you right away, it's because I'm busy cosplaying and spending money on GORGEOUS ART.
> 
> Also I added some tags! And changed the rating. Because I finally came to a decision on some things. /winks and finger guns

_Once upon a time, there was a princess._

_Youthful, intelligent, beautiful, she was the pride of the king and queen of the western kingdom, and as such they did all they could to prepare their daughter for her destiny. Bestowed upon her were endless jewels and clothes, attendants to care for her and her every need, tutors to teach her the rich history of the ocean and stories and ballads from near and far. Everything was taken care of._

_And yet in spite of all this, the princess was unhappy._

_She sought attention wherever she could find it, unconcerned with whom she got it from. The eyes of the entire court were always on her, watching, expecting, but that could never substitute hearing sweet words whispered to her from someone who cherished her. It couldn't replace the soft touch of another being, holding her careful and close like she was something precious, for as loved as she was, there always remained an impenetrable wall between her and the rest of the world. When she turned to her parents to find what she yearned for, she found only excuses and promises of a time that never came._

_She eventually found what she longed for, for however brief a period it was._

_It wasn't long before she surprised her family and the entire court with a sudden pregnancy. The father unknown and unaccounted for, the princess was unable to give a definitive answer one way or another. Upset though the king and queen were, they looked forward to the birth of their grandchild, ever unaware of the growing disheartenment and anxiety in their only daughter._

_Soon the child was born, strong and healthy and with his mothers fair hair. He let out a healthy and loud wail as he was passed between his grandfather and his grandmothers arms, as they gazed lovingly upon his crying face. When the princess came to, she was finally given her unnamed son. The moment her eyes landed on him, the princess burst into uncontrollable tears. Overwhelming love exploded inside of her at the sight of him, but it was tainted with something terrible, something unavoidable: fear._

_The things that caused the princess the most grief before the pregnancy only amplified in volume following the birth of her child. The court became fond of whispering about her behind their cupped hands when she swam past them. One glare from her would silence them quick in the moment, but it couldn't deafen words already spoken out loud, couldn't soften the stares she and her child received._

_It was only too soon that her son became old enough to notice. When he looked up at her with bright and confused eyes late at night, she would pet her child's hair and whisper, “you're perfect, my sweet Yuri, you're perfect.”_

_Her vague answers left him unsatisfied, confused more than before, but it was all right because they had each other. That's what she always said. It_ had _to be all right._

_Or that was what he thought, until the child prince began to hear yelling from behind closed doors late at night, until he sat through tense mornings where no one said a word and looked at one another, until he stumbled across his mother hiding in a private section of the castle gardens, shaking with silent sobbing. He approached his mother like she were a stranger, scared to touch her lest she fall further apart at the seams. When she'd realized he was near, she turned away from him and curled more tightly into herself._

_He asked his mother why she was crying; she couldn't answer._

_Late one summer night, Yuri awoke to the sound of his bedroom door opening. Squinting through the exhaustion and into darkness, he just made out the silhouette of someone floating in the doorway. It was hard to tell, but he thought he could make out the motion of their hand moving upwards to their mouth, the sound of kissed fingertips, and then them holding out their hand as though in offering. Yuri tried to speak but his mouth felt full and clumsy, and before he knew it he was slipping back into unconsciousness._

_When he awoke the next morning, his mother was gone._

 

_\--_

 

_Memories of his mother have faded around the edges and it has only worsened with time. Could he even properly recall her face? He remembered her long and soft hair, the way it tickled his face when she turned around to smile down at him. He was so certain of her eyes, warm like his grandfathers, yet also distant, always searching for something far off when she thought he wasn't looking. He recalled all this, yet he couldn't recall their exact colour._

_What he remembered most clearly was the burning of his tears when he was pulled aside by his grandfather and told that his mother had disappeared. He refused to believe it. She couldn't have – they had each other, for forever and always. Wasn't that what she promised him late at night, while she tried to hide her tears from him?_

_Yuri waited by her bedroom window all through the day, staring out into the endless stretch of blue, expecting for her to come home._

_Weeks passed, and she did not._

_The pain and anger that invaded his small body was far too big for him to bear._

_Yuri scarcely remembered the years the followed his mothers disappearance. It slowly became a blur of one-sided screaming matches with his grandfather, constantly changing tutors, refusing to cooperate with anyone for anything. Certain members of the court began to sneer openly at him. They whispered blame, passed tales of the rebellious prince and his unruly ways. Look what the princess had left behind! A mistake from beginning to end. Was he_ really _to be the next in line? When Yuri scowled and threw accusations back in their faces, it was him that was pulled aside and lectured, not the ones tormenting him._

“ _Pay them no mind,” his grandfather told him while blood thundered angrily in Yuri's ears. “No amount of ordering on my part can permanently silence the words of the bored. Keep your eyes forward and forget their idle gossiping. It should mean nothing to you.”_

_Somehow, that felt worse than if his grandfather had said nothing at all._

_A few more years passed and the burning rage in Yuri's heart transformed itself into a silent smouldering, where fights no longer happened because Yuri didn't care enough to have them. Biting responses that consisted of few, sharp words were all he bothered with now. Tutors no longer changed but they might as well have been educating a wall for all the listening he did. No, it was as if some part of him just... shut down. Had enough. What did he care anymore when everything could be taken away in the blink of an eye?_

_Except he hadn't realized there was still more to lose, because just like that, the king decided to send him away._

 

\--

 

_The kingdom in the east may as well have been a second home for how often Yuri had visited it in his youth. They always visited during important events and holidays, but there were also the summers where he'd gone to visit with his mother, their visits lasting several weeks at a time. His mother would catch up with his uncle and aunt, spending their time doing whatever adults did all day long. Long, important, and boring conversations. In the meantime he had a cousin who resided at the castle, quite a few years older than him but always willing to entertain him when he had the time._

_Sometimes, when they were certain the adults were far too busy to notice them messing around, his cousin would charm the nearby guards to look the other way while they played with the fake tridents the new trainees would practice with. Despite the weapon not being real, Yuri never felt as powerful and unstoppable as he did with it in his hand, blocking and slashing at his cousin as though they were in a real battle._

_His cousin would put up a good fight, but inevitably he would “slip up” somewhere. One time the trident glanced off his side, as close to any vitals as he would allow. Letting out an anguished cry, his cousin rolled onto his back, arm cast dramatically over his face as he floated there in silence, playing dead._

“ _You're faking, Viktor!” Yuri accused, laughing all the while. “I can see you breathing.”_

“ _Ah, you're far too smart for me,” Viktor replied, cheekily peeking one eye open at him. He then gave a large swish of his tail, sending himself up and looping through the water until he was right side up again and settled right beside Yuri. “Now then, lets take another look at that form, shall we? You were a touch sloppy this time and we can't have that if you're to become a true warrior.”_

_Ever eager, Yuri would do as told, assuming the opening position and absorbing each thoughtful critique his cousin had to offer. He wanted to get better and better. Needed it, even._

_Remembering it all now made Yuri's heart ache. He hadn't been back to see the other half of his family in years. Punishment for not “behaving well,” he was informed each summer, when his behaviour was at its worst. Why should he care? Except now he was expected to stay there, no better than a prisoner. No part of him was surprised. It was only a matter of time before his grandparents would tire of him, find it easier to just send him off to be someone else's problem._

_Yuri was silent throughout his grandfather and grandmother's good-byes, refusing to make eye contact with either of them the entire time. His grandfather wouldn't have any of it; King Nikolai took him by the shoulders and waited until Yuri accidentally glanced his way before he spoke._

“ _Please don't be upset with me,” his grandfather said. His hands gave what Yuri could only assume was meant to be a reassuring squeeze.“A change in scenery will be good for you. There is much for you to learn there, my brother will make sure of it. You'll come back stronger and better for it.”_

_Yuri highly doubted it, but he was far too hurt to bother with words._

_Then he, along with his things and attendants, were sent through the portal the royal sea witch had made for them and that was that._

_He had no idea what to say when he arrived to the castle and was brought before the royal family, who all greeted him like he wasn't a black mark on their family._

“ _It's been too long,” Queen Lilia said, as if it wasn't Yuri's own fault that he hadn't been back in years. “A room has already been prepared for you. We'll have your things brought up while you get reacquainted with your new home.”_

_Yuri only nodded, not quite meeting her eyes. King Yakov was saying something about a special dinner being made for his arrival, his favourite fish being brought in from afar, but Yuri didn't care, it hadn't been his favourite in forever. Off to the side his eyes met Prince Viktor's, who stared steadily back at him, waiting until the king and queen had to take their leave and report back to their duties. Viktor swam up to him then, warm smile in place, and said, “Lets go for a little swim tonight, after dinner. I'd like a chance to talk with you.”_

_Why not now? Yuri wanted to ask, but Viktor was already turning and swimming away, hasting off to what Yuri could only assume were his own duties. Of course. They were both older now, it only made sense that Viktor would assume more responsibilities. Yuri briefly wondered if Yakov and Lilia would expect that of him during his stay as well. Viktor had been his age when he'd begun helping out, with small tasks here and there, after all._

_Later that night, after dinner and small chat was over for the night, Yuri followed Viktor throughout the castle. The two of them silent except for the occasional greeting Viktor gave to those they passed by. Viktor seemed to be leading him somewhere, and it didn't take Yuri long to realize where they were headed._

_They arrived to the courtyard, empty but for them._

“ _We used to play here when you were younger,” Viktor said, finally breaking the silence. He glanced back at Yuri, expression soft and considering. “Do you remember?”_

 _Yuri snorted. “Of course I do. I wasn't_ that _young.”_

_Viktor chuckled. “Young enough,” he teased. He spun around to face him, arms loosely crossed over his front. “So. What's this I'm hearing about you being a little hellion back home?”_

_Yuri's face flared an angry red. “Is that what they told you?”_

“ _It's what I've heard.”_

_Yuri scowled, Viktor's casual words inciting something deep, deep inside him that had been brewing for far too long. “Don't make it sound like I was just being some little bastard for no reason. I had plenty of reasons!”_

_Viktor nodded, somehow unprovoked. “Okay, I'm listening. What troubles you so deeply?”_

_That had Yuri pausing, suddenly hesitant and unsure how to proceed. No one ever asked him what made him so angry. No one ever just offered their ear and shoulder. There was never the place or time. He didn't know whether to vomit everything up and out of him like the terrible poison it was, or to flee and never look back. “I...”_

_Minutes passed with nothing more said, Viktor regarding him patiently all the while. Yuri couldn't get the answer out; he could feel it lodged in his throat, the truth choking him, but no amount of willpower could push it out._

“ _It's all right if you don't know what to say,” Viktor eventually said. “It's... a lot. You've been through a lot. We'll have plenty of time to talk about everything when you're ready, if you'd like. I won't push you for it.”_

“ _And if I never want to talk about it?” Yuri said._

“ _Then that's okay, too. I've heard other things, besides about your behaviour. It's made quite the picture in my head of the last couple of years. But I think I know a way to help you.”_

_Yuri squinted. “And what is that, exactly?”_

“ _You need a way to channel your excess energy,” Viktor answered. “A way to physically work through all of those intense emotions churning through that body of yours. Tell me, are you still interested in learning combat?”_

_Yuri's eyes widened. He was never allowed to play with weapons at home – his grandparents weren't fond of the idea of him messing around with them at his age. It had been an endless source of frustration, especially whenever he got caught late in the night by the guards and was immediately punished by his grandparents for breaking their rules._

_Viktor's smile widened. “I've been talking to Yakov and Lilia about the possibility of allowing you official training. They're still undecided, but if you behave yourself while you're here and keep up with your studies, then I think I can make a good case for it.”_

“ _You would do that?” Yuri felt both anticipation and suspicion and couldn't decide which reaction was the truer one. “What's in it for you?”_

“ _Is seeing my dear cousin happy and thriving not reason enough?”_

“ _I don't know, is it? We're not even blood-related,” Yuri shot back, before instantly regretting it. Here his cousin was trying to help him, and he chose now of all times to get mouthy?_

“ _My skin is far thicker than you think,” Viktor retorted, chuckling softly to himself as though Yuri's attempts to dig under his skin are amusing rather than annoying. He swam closer, long silver hair billowing around him in soft waves. A sudden feeling wafted over Yuri's senses, some old memory buried in the recesses of his mind, making his heart skip in his chest. It was gone before he could properly name it._

“ _But to answer your question,” Viktor continued, “_ of course _it is. Blood doesn't change that fact. So,” he held out his hand in offering, “do we have a deal?”_

 _Yuri scoffed. “Do I seriously have to say it?_ Yes, _I'll do it.” He took Viktor's hand, squeezing it tight as they shook. If it hurt Viktor at all, he made no show of it on his face. He scowled up at his cousin and hissed, “You'd better not be pulling my tail on this. I'll know if you're lying.”_

_Viktor's brow rose. “Me? Pulling on your tail? I've never been known to do that.”_

“ _Sure you are,” Yuri deadpanned as he recalled dozens of times where the opposite was true._

_Viktor let out a soft laugh, no doubt recalling the same memories. He rested his hands on his hips, gazed out into the blue as if to cherish the moment of calm. He turned back to Yuri and said,“It's getting pretty late, you must be tired after everything that happened today. Lets call it a night and start fresh in the morning.” He turned to leave, pausing only when he heard Yuri make a sound behind him. “Yes? Did I forget something?”_

“ _I, uh.” Somehow Yuri's face had reddened again, against his will. He ignored it as he forced out a hurried, “Thanks. For... you know.”_

_Suddenly Viktor was right in front of him again. Yuri couldn't meet his eyes, they were too busy staring at something off to the side that had suddenly taken his interest. But he couldn't ignore the warmth in Viktor's voice, the sincerity he heard there in his reply._

“ _Of course. I know it's been a long time, but... we care about you. Your grandparents care about you, too. We want things to be okay. We'll do whatever it takes to get us all there.”_

_Yuri released a long withheld breath, tension he'd been wearing all day falling off him like discarded, heavy armor. Someone cared about him? For the first time in too long, Yuri considered believing it._

 

_\--_

 

“Good morning, Eros!”

Yuuri, still half asleep at that hour in the morning and only able to look anything but due to the power of carefully applied magical make-up, could only blink foolishly in Viktor's direction as he entered the prince's room. Surely he hadn't heard that right; the prince barely acknowledged his existence all week. (The odd occurrence yesterday didn't count, in Yuuri's mind, for it had been just that.) Except the prince was sitting up right at his vanity, watching him in the reflection in the mirror with a smile on his face while his attendants played around with his long hair as they pleased. Normally they wouldn't be that far into their morning routine, with Yuuri usually coming in around the time they started. The prince must have woken up early today.

“Good morning,” the prince repeated himself, patient.

Yuuri swallowed. Okay then. “Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“Perfectly, Your Highness.”

The prince hummed, studying Yuuri carefully through the mirror, looking stuck in the middle of belief and skepticism. He apparently picked the former because he then dropped the subject and moved onto an entirely new topic.

“I didn't really get a chance, but I wanted to say that your magic yesterday was really something!”

“It was nothing,” Yuuri replied reflexively, only to mentally slap himself for his reply. It was always better to just accept a compliment, even if you didn't personally agree with it, than to give someone an opening to debate it with you.

Which was exactly what Viktor did. “I wouldn't call that nothing!” he protested. “It was entrancing, those things were... What exactly did you call them yesterday?”

“Butterflies?” Yuuri supplied.

One of the attendants paused their ministrations, in the middle of pulling back a section of Viktor's hair into one of many braids that were in the process. “I heard about this last night! The children were talking everyone's ears off. The way they described it, it sounded absolutely breath-taking. I wish I could have seen it.”

The other attendants nodded and murmured their assent.

Yuuri wanted to squirm. Could they move on from the subject of his magic, please? It wasn't _that_ spectacular. Any sea witch could have done it if they studied enough of the basics of illusionary magic – which most didn't, but that was besides the point. The only thing that made it special was the exoticism of the magic's form, nothing more.

“Yes! Breath-taking!” Viktor agreed with a snap of his fingers. “That's precisely the word for it.” He turned around in his seat, startling some of the attendants who lost grip on his hair and accidentally let go of the sections they were working on. Viktor honed his attention straight onto Yuuri. “Will you be doing anymore of that anytime soon?”

 _Mila was right, this was absolutely a mistake._ Yuuri had expected the children to be the ones demanding more, not... not Viktor. “We'll see,” he said.

Viktor blinked at him, brow slowly furrowing as disappointment settled in. One of the attendants gently urged him back around in his seat, though his eyes remained on Yuuri in the mirror. That made Yuuri want to squirm, as well. Couldn't he look at anything other than him? Why the sudden intense interest? Yuuri briefly made eye contact with himself in the mirror. He didn't look _off_ today, did he? No, he looked very much the same as he always did in this form. So what was Viktor's problem?

Before long, the attendants were finished and Viktor was ready to face the long day of a prince at work. Today his hair had been braided many times over, with several of those braids gathered at the back, pinned in place with a opalescent comb that was shaped like a starfish. The attendants fawned over him as per usual, petting his hair and asking him for his opinion.

“It's lovely,” Viktor replied to them, all smiles. “You did a wonderful job.” He then turned around in his seat again, glancing Yuuri up and down. Oh no, now what?

“I know you're already all done up,” Viktor began, “but if you'd like, perhaps my attendants can work their charms on you as well? Not today, but maybe tomorrow?”

At the offer, the attendants immediately turned their attention on Yuuri. He could practically hear the loud, sloshing sound of ideas violently flooding their minds as they took him in.

“They could match...” one of them whispered to the others, just loud enough for Yuuri to catch.

“It'd be so fitting! A prince and his sea witch, matching!”

Yuuri's face burned. _His_ sea witch? Seriously? In what world – ?!

“N-No!” he blurted, before hurriedly correcting himself with, “I mean, no thank you, Your Highness. That's not necessary.”

Viktor's brow turned upwards. “My apologies, I didn't mean to offend. I only meant to offer so there would be less work for you in the mornings. Your look is absolutely stunning, I promise you that. Whoever taught you how to do that should be proud.”

Yuuri wanted his bury his face in his hands and scream. _Stunning_ , he says! Complimenting him so casually after a week of nothing but a cold shoulder. What was he to even do with all that? This was a dream, it was the only explanation. Except when Yuuri gave his tentacle a quick pinch, he found he was still there in Viktor's room, still embarrassed and at a total loss for words.

“Shall we get going?” one of the attendants suggested.

“Yes, you're right. I've kept everyone waiting long enough.” Viktor rose from his seat and stretched his arms over his head. “I wonder what they'll have prepared for today... Do you enjoy the food here, Eros? There isn't anything you're allergic to, is there?”

Yuuri withheld a long-suffering sigh. So this was how the morning was going to go, huh? He answered the princes questions (“No allergies, Your Highness, and everything is delicious”) as he followed him to the dining hall.

The other members of the royal family, along with their esteemed guests, were just swimming into the room from other entrances as they arrived. Yuuri took his normal seat next to Phichit, who smiled and greeted him. Yuuri meant to respond, but his attention was immediately hooked onto the mermaid sitting on the other side of Phichit, someone that Yuuri had honestly hoped he could continue avoiding throughout his ill-defined stay: Celestino Cialdini.

Celestino glanced his way and they made eye contact. Yuuri stared back, the instinct to fight or flee electrifying every inch of his body, though he remained where he sat, frozen with fear. Despite his stay at the castle, Yuuri had yet to really exchange words with his former mentor past polite yet awkward greetings they gave in passing. Viktor didn't linger long after meals, meaning Yuuri was in and out of the dining hall almost as soon as meals began and ended. Phichit had also informed him earlier in the week that Celestino was often busy with his own private work as well, meaning the odds of them crossing paths were few and far in-between.

Yuuri had been grateful for their current circumstances, but realistically it only amped up his anxiety every time he entered the same room as his former mentor. He couldn't help but wonder: had Celestino figured out who he really was? Could he tell? There was no way he couldn't guess, not after all the times he'd caught Yuuri practising his shape-shifting late at night. So few practised the kind of magic he did, just _who else_ could he be? He supposed he looked different enough in this form – he'd changed his tentacles colours from a deep blue to its current black, both it and design on his upper body tattooed into his skin with the help of his last mentor Minako when he'd officially finished his training. He'd even adopted a new hairstyle and a heavy enough make-up that anyone who didn't know him too well wouldn't instantly recognize him. But all of that only went so far.

(Part of him considered just shape-shifting an entirely new persona for his Eros identity, but shape-shifting was an active magic, something that required energy and stamina throughout its duration, and that was something Yuuri needed to save for his work instead. He spent enough time shifted into a regular mermaid when he visited nearby markets and towns for ingredients. He couldn't keep himself shifted all day, every day, as much as he wished to sometimes.)

No, looking at Celestino now while everyone settled in around them only strengthened all of that anxiety and more. Would today be the day they actually talked? What would Celestino say to him? What could he even say back?

Perhaps not, because someone swam up behind Celestino and turned his attention away for the moment. Though Celestino was now preoccupied, leaving him with yet another day to put off an uncomfortable conversation, the tension refused to melt away from Yuuri's body. His whole body felt stiff, tentacles curling and uncurling nervously beneath the table.

Breakfast went as it always did: delicious food, easy conversation that floated all around him but more or less left him alone. Phichit chatted with him but seemed to sense his low energy so he didn't press for responses. Yuuri only took a couple bites of his food, forcing back enough for no one to notice his lack of appetite and hating how heavy and pinching the food in his stomach felt for his effort.

Before long breakfast was over. Yuuri got up, expecting Viktor at the other end of the table to already be rising and ready to attend to his duties. Except Viktor was still seated, engrossed in some conversation with Prince Yuri, the younger mermaid doing more of the actual talking while Viktor nodded along, still picking at the food left on the skewer in his hands.

No, no, no, no, no! Why did Viktor choose today of all days to be social?

A finger tapped Yuuri's shoulder.

He turned around and stared straight up at his former mentor.

Yuuri's eyes immediately honed in on the long, narwhal horn protruding from Celestino's head, straight through his long, thick hair. Long ago, back when he still lived with Phichit and they studied under Celestino, they used to joke about that horn. At the end of a long day of studying and dealing with their mentor's criticisms, they'd unwind with jokes about Celestino losing his cool and trying to jab them with it like some sort of angry animal. They could take him! They could out swim him! A horn that big would be more awkward than precise. It was funny then, but now the idea felt _a little_ too tangible for comfort.

“Eros,” Celestino said, snatching Yuuri's attention and reigning it back into the present. His new name sounded utterly foreign and awkward in his mouth.

Yuuri took a deep breath. “Good morning, Celestino.”

Something in Celestino's expression softened. “Please, call me Ciao-Ciao. We're all friends here,” he informed him, as if he hadn't said almost those exact words years ago, albeit with a much happier tone of voice. “It's... good to see you well. It's been a while.”

Oh. So he really had guessed. Phichit had promised not to say anything, but some secrets were always going to be obvious to the right merpeople looking. Yuuri wet his lips. “It's good to see you, too. I...” _Can't imagine what you must think of me now. Can't imagine how disappointed you must be that I went against your word. You always hated illusionary magic and shape-shifting, and yet here I am, shamelessly waving it in your face._

Celestino nodded, raised a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. “I always wondered what you were up to, whether you continued your studies or not. You didn't keep in touch.”

 _I kept in touch with Phichit_ , Yuuri wanted to say, but that wasn't entirely true. He got in contact when he felt the bravest, when he felt like he could put on the best face possible and act like he wasn't constantly and actively ruining his life. And that... wasn't often. Phichit, well-meaning as any best friend could be, always gave Yuuri the space he asked for, even when that need came from some place dark and toxic.

But why bother to admit that particular failing out loud? They both knew enough about his failures.

“I wanted to,” Yuuri confessed instead. “I've... been busy.”

Celestino's brow pinched together. “I can see that.” Ah, there was the disapproval he'd been expecting all week. Yuuri braced himself as his former mentor continued, breath held tightly in his chest. “You know how I feel about... this. But every sea witch has choices to make, and you made yours. I can't say I'm completely happy about the decisions you've made, but what I can say is that I'm glad you didn't quit after what happened.”

Yuuri's heart seized in his chest.

“You always had so much potential, I hated the thought of you just throwing it all away,” Celestino continued, unaware of how the world had just stopped. “When you left us, I thought that was exactly what was going to happen. You must have found someone else to teach you.”

 _What happened_ , Yuuri's mind began, before he quickly shut it up with an internal chorus of _no no no, we're not going there, we're not thinking about_ that, _not now, not ever!_

“Eros! I'm ready to go!” Viktor called out from behind. He swam up next to both of them. “Oh, good morning Celestino. Forgive me for interrupting, but Eros and I really must be leaving now.”

Celestino flashed the prince a polite smile. “Not at all, I was just about to head out myself.” He bowed to them both, eyes on Yuuri when he righted himself up. “It was good to meet you, Eros. I look forward to seeing you at work.”

“Thank you,” Yuuri distantly heard himself reply. He bowed his head, eyes barely focused as he heard Celestino swim away. He'd called him “Eros” in front of the prince. Well. At least he was willing to play along, play this game where Yuuri was anything but the actual wreck of a being he really was. He should be thankful for that.

And yet he was shaking.

“Eros? Are you all right?” he heard from far away. He glanced up, saw Viktor watching him with a worried expression pinching his face.

No matter the racing of his heart or his mind, Yuuri had to keep his composure. He couldn't afford anything else in the moment. He was fine – he _would_ be fine. He just needed a minute. What he wouldn't give for a place to calm down his nerves, to let himself breathe deep and easy and away from curious eyes. But he would make do. He could last until nightfall.

So Yuuri did as he always did: he took a deep breath and pushed everything hurtling inside of him down, down, down into the depths of himself, never to be seen by anyone.

He nodded at the prince and said, “We should get going, Your Highness. Ready?”

“Of course.” Viktor paused, then added, “You know, if there is anything you need, if there's something lacking...”

Yuuri shook his head. “That's kind of you, but I'm fine.”

For the second time that morning Viktor looked skeptical, like he had a pointed response that was just waiting to be breathed aloud and given life, but instead he nodded and carried on his way, pausing halfway to the exit and glancing behind him when he noticed that Yuuri wasn't yet following.

Yuuri compressed his hands together, as if he could squeeze out the nervous energy. _I'm fine. I can do this._

If only he could magic himself into believing his little lies; what a marvellous trick that would be.

 

\--

 

Viktor's eyes were always on him now, and Yuuri had no idea why.

And if Yuuri was being honest, it was getting to be a little annoying.

_I know I've glamoured myself to be attractive, but this is ridiculous._

But that wasn't the only change in Viktor's behaviour, Yuuri came to notice. Whenever they arrived at a room holding some important meeting, Viktor was now taking it upon himself to invite Yuuri inside, like he was someone important or relevant enough to be in there.

“Surely you must be bored out here,” Viktor pointed out after he was rejected for the fourth time that day. If he noticed the way everyone was staring at the two of them, he sure made a display of not showing it. “Why not come inside? You can sit down and...”

“I entertain myself just fine,” Yuuri answered, voice stilted. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to humdrum voices talking business and politics. At least in the hallway he could be left alone with his thoughts.

(That wasn't always a great thing, but he'd still take that over the politics any day. At least it was quiet. And familiar.)

Viktor would eventually acquiesce, but not without glancing behind him as he'd enter the room and close the door behind him.

Most confusing was when, in-between meetings, servants would sometimes rush after them, catching Viktor's attention before discretely luring him away, halfway down the hallway and out of earshot. Viktor would eagerly go with them, promising to be back soon as they hurried away. Yuuri raised a brow at that. He was suddenly good enough for boring but influential meetings but he couldn't hear whatever a random servant had to say?

But then Viktor would return to Yuuri's side and, with a strangely determined look on his face, ask a question like “What's your favourite colour?” with the sort of seriousness one would expect if you were inquiring about someones health or family lineage.

( _“My...”_

“ _You do have one, yes? Everyone has a favourite colour.”_

 _Yuuri blinked. Did he? It was hard to remember with Viktor staring at him so intensely, with his bright blue eyes... What was the question again? Yuuri wanted to turn away and hide what must be his obvious shame. His face felt warm, he_ must _be blushing. This was why he avoided looking straight into those eyes for too long, it was clearly a very dangerous thing to do._

“ _Do you?” Viktor asked again._

“ _Uh...” At a complete loss, Yuuri went with the first thing that came to mind. “Blue?”_

_... No wait! That wasn't what he meant –_

_But then Viktor beamed and any desire to revoke his answer disappeared._

“ _A lovely colour. Okay! Your favourite shade of blue, then?”_

“ _...Um...”_ )

And it happened every time Viktor was dragged away by a servant. None of the questions ever felt too personal or intrusive, though the intensity of Viktor's expressions left room for some doubt. It had Yuuri wondering, but he didn't dare ask the prince just what he was up to. For all he knew this was just Viktor's way of getting to know him – though Yuuri couldn't quite banish the feeling that Viktor was carefully collecting seemingly tangential information about him for some important reason.

But if that was true...

 _No!_ Yuuri wanted to shout. _Don't do this to me. You're going to give me the impression you care about me._ And that most certainly wasn't true. To be given that idea only to have it be yanked away when he eventually discovered the truth behind all of those questions... There was only so much a heart could take in such a short period of time. His time at the castle would be so much easier if they kept a careful distance.

And yet when Viktor approached him yet again with more questions, Yuuri still answered some of them. Part of him hesitated, but something in Viktor's eyes had him complying. They were harmless questions, anyway. Weren't they?

_(“What do you think about our windows?” Viktor casually asked one afternoon, while they were just sitting down for a quick lunch. They ate at a different time than the rest of the family due to conflicting schedules, so there was no one else in the dining hall that afternoon except for them._

“ _They're... windows?”_

_Viktor shook his head. “No, no – well, yes. But I mean what do you think of them? Do you like their size? What about their style?”_

“ _I haven't really given it a thought,” Yuuri admitted, eyes down on the table to avoid Viktor's penetrating stare. No matter how much Viktor looked at him these days, he was certain he'd never get used to it._

“ _I noticed there weren't any windows or openings in your cave, outside of the entrance itself. Do you prefer the dark?”_

_Yuuri shrugged. Took a chance and glanced up at the prince. “That wasn't really a preference, Your Highness. I just wanted some place quiet and...” Closed off, he almost said, but stopped himself._

_Viktor nodded, chin resting in his hand. Servants came out with their lunch; Yuuri accepted a skewer of fish with a murmur of thanks. Viktor did the same, smiling up at the servant handing him his food. They flushed and bowed their head before taking their leave._

_Viktor twirled the skewer in his hand, eyes looking upwards as he seemed lost in thought. Eventually he said, “I suppose what I should be asking is if you prefer your magical light to natural, then.”_

_Yuuri swallowed a small bite a food. “Natural light is... nice. I don't work in it often, but I like it.”_

_A smile widened across Viktor's lips. “Your magic looks splendid in natural light.”_

_Yuuri nearly choked. Viktor hummed to himself and said nothing more for the rest of the meal.)_

A week passed like this. Then a day came where Viktor didn't bother with questions at all. He greeted Yuuri in the mornings and tried to engage Yuuri in some small chat, but no longer was he asking Yuuri his thoughts on something like windows or the decor around the castle. For a brief moment Yuuri wondered if Viktor had gotten bored and was now too used to Yuuri's presence to find it a source of entertainment. That should have been a relief, if anything. Yuuri half expected that this would happen, so he couldn't – shouldn't – be disappointed that the prince had moved on. Anyone could see that outside of his skills he wasn't that interesting of a merperson.

But then the next day came, and as soon as breakfast ended Viktor approached him and said, “I have something I want to show you.”

Something? Something could be _anything_. Gods, Yuuri hated vague comments like that. It toyed around too much with his already anxious mind. “But your meetings...”

“I don't have any today. I rescheduled them for another time. Today the afternoon is ours to do with whatever we please, and if it's all right I'd like to take you somewhere.”

“Oh.”

Viktor chuckled. “We're only going as far as the garden. Is that okay?”

“I – sure?” Did he honestly have a say in the matter? Viktor sure acted like he did.

Viktor smiled warmly at him, and before Yuuri knew it his hands were in Viktor's, carefully cupped, his fingers stroking lightly over Yuuri's knuckles. Yuuri gasped. A shiver raced through his body at the unexpected contact, but he couldn't bring himself to snatch his hands away.

“Please don't be frightened,” came Viktor's voice, soft and alluring. “What I have for you is... well, it's a gift. A peace offering, if you will. For all of the harm I've caused you. You don't have to accept it, but I wish to give it all the same. Will you let me?”

Yuuri swallowed. There was no way this was actually happening. In what wild dream did he concoct this fantasy? Yet he could feel himself be entirely in control of his body, and so there was no one else but himself to blame when he finally nodded and said, “Okay. Show me.”

He didn't know how but Viktor's smile widened, eyes impossibly bright. He held onto Yuuri's hand tight as he immediately began swimming, hauling Yuuri along after him. Heat exploded in Yuuri's cheeks, especially when he caught sight of several servants down the hallway watching them from afar, saying something to each other while they did so.

“Ah – Your Highness – !”

“Yes? Oh.” Noticing his hand still gripping Yuuri's, Viktor reluctantly let go and held his hands close to his body. “My apologies. I was just excited? I really want you to see this.”

How could his hand feel so cold after only a few moments of contact? Yuuri cleared his throat. “It's all right, no harm done. Continue?”

Viktor did so, leading them through the castle and out into the garden. Yuuri's eyes traced the landscape, expecting to see something strange or clearly out of place, but all he saw were colourful coral reef and the odd, fancy statue of a past ruler or beloved figure.

“Your Highness, I don't...”

“Almost there!” Viktor called over his shoulder. Was he swimming faster? Yuuri quickly picked up the pace. “It's at the other end of the garden. You'll see!”

But Yuuri didn't see. They swam and swam and for all the looking he did, Yuuri wasn't seeing anything that stood out from the norm. Was the prince playing a joke on him? Gods, he sure hoped not. Viktor didn't seem the type, but what did he know?

Eventually Viktor stopped and Yuuri founded himself at the very edge of the garden. Again all he saw was the garden itself, the short wall that surrounded the garden, and... a building? Not particularly huge by the castles standards, but it looked big enough to be fairly comfortable on the inside.

Viktor placed his hands on his hips and smiled up at it. “This is it! This used to be one of my playrooms as a child. I'd come out here and spend hours just making up stories and playing them out with my friends. It's a very special place for me.”

Yuuri nodded, a touch confused why the prince suddenly wanted to show him this. “I see. It's very nice, Your Highness. I'm sure you have some fond memories.”

“Very. Anyway, I had it converted for you.”

Yuuri's brow furrowed. “... You did what?”

“Converted! Come see,” Viktor repeated. He swam over to the door and pushed it open. Smiling over his shoulder at him, Viktor gestured Yuuri to swim inside with a flick of his wrist and (gods help him) a wink.

“Converted into _what?_ ” Yuuri uttered under his breath. He shook his head and swam over, pausing momentarily when he realized Viktor was holding the door open so he could enter first. Yuuri couldn't quite make out what was inside other than for small flecks of bright, silver light that reflected on nearby surfaces. Magic? Sucking in a deep breath, Yuuri entered.

His breath caught in his chest. Was he really looking at...

Viktor entered behind him, closing the door behind him. “Do you like it? I had my servants working on it all week.”

Yuuri blinked several times, doubting what he was seeing. There was no way – but Viktor _had_. Empty shelves occupied two walls, while the wall across from the doorway homed a pair of ivory white clam shell seats. Sheer, sparkling, light blue fabric was draped across the wall behind it, various opalescent starfish and shells attached to the corners holding it up. The wall behind it, from what Yuuri could see, was a dark blue. At the center of the room sat a cauldron, clean, empty, completely new, and ready to be worked with. Yuuri's eyes trailed upwards, to the ceiling – open to the entire ocean, but for the thin, transparent barrier separating the room from the rest of it, letting in all the natural light that it could.

Yuuri shook his head. “But why?”

“Because I completely messed up,” Viktor said. “I uprooted your entire life and am responsible for your stay here. It's not fair to you. There's not much I can do but... well, this? Look!” Viktor swam further into the room, gesturing with his arms stretched out wide. “There's plenty of room! I talked to Phichit about the needs of a working Sea Witch and he suggested everything you see here. If you turn around, there's something extra special behind you that I think you'll really like.”

Yuuri did just that, eyes honing in on a medium sized silver ring that hung from the ceiling next to the door. From the ring hung threads of varying sizes, with diamond shaped silver shards hanging all along them.

Viktor grinned. “Watch this.” He opened the door and swam outside, a few feet away. When he swam back towards the door, the decoration immediately began to shine, the diamond shaped light hitting the room all around it. Yuuri couldn't help but watched the way it played across Viktor's fair skin, his long and decorated silver hair.

“I noticed you were a little jittery all week and thought perhaps you're the type who is easily startled?” Viktor explained, seemingly unaware of Yuuri's attention on him. “So I had Phichit enchant this piece here for you. This way you'll always know when someone is approaching. No sudden noises, no one surprising you while you're busy at work.”

“At work,” Yuuri echoed.

“Yes! If you'd like? I mean, that's why I had this room converted for you. So you'd have a place all to yourself, to do with whatever you wish. If you don't want to continue your work here, then consider it a space for you to be yourself and have some peace and quiet.”

“But if I do?”

“Then I can instruct the guards to escort customers here for you. You won't have to worry about a thing, it will all be taken care of for you.”

Yuuri narrowed his eyes. “But what about your work? I can't be here by myself all day, the king and queen will eventually notice.”

“Don't worry, I thought about that as well.” Viktor winked and tapped a finger against his lips. “Most of my work is done in the afternoons. I know I've been retiring early these days, but I normally spend my evenings out here in the garden. So you can be out here all you'd like and I'll just spend my time out here. We'll still be within the vicinity of each other, so no rules are broken!”

Yuuri dragged his eyes off of Viktor, back onto the room surrounding him. He'd never imagined anything like this. For Viktor to go this far for him...

Silence. Minutes passed. Yuuri studied the space all around him. Viktor watched him, becoming more and more tense as the seconds ticked by.

Viktor wet his lips. “... You don't like it. Oh, gods. I've overstepped some boundary, haven't I? This is entirely inappropriate. I shouldn't have – ”

“You're ridiculous,” Yuuri interrupted.

Viktor's mouth opened as if to protest, but for the first time since they met he had nothing to say, so he silently closed it.

“You're completely and _utterly_ ridiculous,” Yuuri repeated, this time with a soft laugh. “Who goes out of their way to do something like this? For an _apology?_ ”

Viktor wordlessly pointed towards himself.

Yuuri laughed again, brought a hand to his face and ran it over his hair. He couldn't help himself, the laughter came from somewhere deep and troubled, desperately needing the momentary release while he just lived in the bizarre moment. “So all of those questions you kept asking...”

Was there a touch of shyness to Viktor's smile? Yuuri couldn't stop staring at it as Viktor answered. “I wanted to adapt this room as closely to your tastes as I could. Which was very difficult. You weren't very cooperative.”

“Hmm. Wonder why.”

“That wasn't a complaint! Though I suppose it kind of is. Is it to your liking, by the way?”

Yuuri nodded. “Yes. It's very nice.”

“If there's anything you'd like to add or change, please do. I want it to be yours as much as possible. While you're here, I mean.”

Yuuri's smile died, the reminder bringing him back to reality. “For however long that is. You did this as an apology, but...” He tensed. “I don't mean to sound ungrateful or selfish, Your Highness, but... have you considered talking to the king and queen about our situation?”

Viktor frowned. “Talking to them is...”

“Is what?”

“Difficult.” Viktor shook his head. “They're not exactly in the mindset to listen to what I have to say right now. I've wounded them, and once their minds are made up...”

“But would you try?”

Viktor pursed his lips, eyes staring off somewhere to the side as he ruminated over the idea. He let out a small sigh and nodded. “I can try. I can't promise results, but I will try. I'll do it as soon as possible.”

Yuuri nodded. He knew the outcome likely wasn't in his favor, neither the king nor queen seemed the type to back down once they've come to a decision, but it'd mean the world to him if someone _tried_ for him. “Thank you. That... means a lot to me.”

For a moment neither of them said anything. Yuuri turned his attention to the decor, running his hands along the smooth rim of the cauldron.

Viktor eventually cleared his throat. “Well then. I suppose I should leave you to get acquainted with your new place. If you need me, I'll be nearby.” He turned to leave, then paused, lingering in the doorway. “Oh, have you decided whether you'd like to continue your work here? Or should I give you more time?”

Yuuri shrugged. He itched to use his magic, the power inside him building and building as the days passed, leaving him restless. Did he really want a shop out in the (semi) open, though? Could it not just be a private space for him? He could still do some work, without customers. But then again...

“I have to think on it,” he said.

“Take all the time you need,” Viktor replied. “And in the meantime, I'll do what I can to convince my parents to let you go. Who knows,” he chuckled, “perhaps if I'm charming enough they'll be persuaded to see it our way.”

“That part won't be difficult,” Yuuri said, eyes carefully studying the wall furthest away from the prince.

Viktor let out a small gasp. “Did you just agree that I'm charming?”

Yuuri's face flushed. “Weren't you just leaving, Your Highness?”

“Viktor. Please call me Viktor. 'Your Highness' is so long and formal, I tire of hearing it honestly.”

“... Okay. But only if you leave right now.”

Yuuri chanced a glance in the prince's direction. His heart skipped at the sight of Viktor smiling so broadly, his cheeks tinged a faint pink, eyes bright and gleaming. It was almost like before – before their mistakes, before others got involved. Yuuri sucked in a breath and looked away before the image could be burned too deeply into his brain.

“Right. Until later, then. I'll come back when it's time to retire.”

Viktor closed the door behind him, leaving Yuuri alone with his new space and his racing thoughts.

 

\--

 

He liked it! He really and truly _liked it!_

Viktor leaned back against the door to Yuuri's new work space and released the breath he'd been holding.

A night of picking Phichit's brain clean for every important detail he'd could get, then a week of planning, and it hadn't gone to waste like he'd feared. Viktor didn't know what he would have done if Yuuri had reacted poorly. What else could he give someone so magical and independent? Thank the gods Phichit had told him how necessary it was for Sea Witches to have a safe space to practice their craft, how essential it was for Sea Witches to use up the growing magic inside of them. He'd suspected Yuuri needed a space of his own, but knowing the practical uses for one only aided his pursuit in creating such a space for him. The rest of the information he'd had to discover on his own, Phichit being wildly uncooperative whenever it came to questions about “Eros” himself, but that was perfectly all right. Viktor was more than happy to discover who Yuuri really was on his own time.

Except now he had to have a chat with Lilia and Yakov about their current arrangement. One could only imagine how well that would go. But Yuuri requested it, and so it would be done.

 

\--

 

The same day found Prince Yuri in the courtyard, enjoying his afternoon off from his endless studies. He was alone but for Otabek and nearby stationed guards, who were barely pretending to not be watching them. Otabek was free for the day, so they'd immediately taken up their practice tridents and had gotten to sparring. It was something they did often, when they got the chance. Being one of the few mermaids in the castle with shark-like features like his own, Yuri had felt naturally drawn to the stoic captain. He was young and talented, if a little hard to read at times, and he was always willing to let Yuri get some good practice in with him. Anyone else would hesitate to fight against him – and the one who used to was “too busy” these days – but not Otabek. He'd simply smirk and ask him when and where, just as up to the challenge as Yuri was.

It was a fairly normal afternoon and Yuri was enjoying himself immensely – until Otabek said something that had Yuri floundering his thrust, his trident barely grazing off of Otabek's.

Panting, Yuri demanded, “Viktor did _what?_ ”

“I said,” Otabek began again after a particularly strong trust his his trident, which Yuri managed to block with his own, “that he converted the building in the western part of the garden for the new Sea Witch. Some servants saw and now everyone in the castle is talking about it. I'm surprised you didn't already know.”

Yuri grunted. So what? They exchanged a few more blows but Yuri eventually backed away, lowering his weapon to his side. It was no good, he couldn't keep going with Viktor's latest, confusing stunt rolling around in his head. He shook his head. “Everyone's talking about it, huh. That idiot.”

Why was he surprised? Viktor always did things seemingly out of nowhere for reasons deeply important to him but unusual to anyone else. It was _apparently_ part of his charm, though Yuri wasn't sure how much of that was influenced by Viktor's looks. And here his cousin was, at it again. But what for?

Viktor's behaviour had always been a touch odd, but... Well, it was impossible not to notice how different Viktor had been for the last year. How _distant._ Obviously going through the motions of all that entailed being the heir to the throne. His smiles never reached his eyes and he was always too busy for anything that wasn't work, work, work, even despite how little his heart seemed to be in it anymore. Then out of nowhere, a week before the annual banquet, he became an explosion of energy. It was like someone had zapped him in the backside and got him all charged again. He'd taken over banquet duties just a few years ago and always took those responsibilities to heart, but after so long of seeing Viktor just float through life it was jarring to see him smiling so hard it hurt and practically dancing all over the place. He threw himself entirely into every bit of the preparations.

“ _Everything has to be perfect!”_ he'd kept repeating the day of the banquet, while his attendants chased him all over the castle, trying to usher him back to his room so he could get ready for the damn thing.

Yuri couldn't for the life of him guess what was so important about that night in particular, all banquets were pretty much the same. That was, until he saw Viktor with someone he'd never seen before out on a balcony when he was on his way out. He hadn't gotten a very good look, his attention too stuck on the dopey look on Viktor's face when he looked at the merperson next to him. Yuri had snorted at that and ignored the love-sick idiot. Viktor _would_ get riled up over some boy.

Whatever. It seemed to have gone well, whatever Viktor's intentions were. Maybe things were returning back to normal.

But then Viktor suddenly took off in the middle of the night the next day, like he was desperately chasing after something that was slipping out of his fingers. Then there was the intense, emotional _crash_ that hit him shortly after he was returned home. And right alongside him was some weird sea witch no one had ever seen before suddenly present in their lives.

And now Viktor had gone and converted a small building for him, like he was supposed to be a permanent fixture of their lives?

Images of long, fair blonde hair and distant, sad eyes flashed in Yuri's mind. The phantom feeling of someone's warm hand holding his – then gone, never to be seen again.

Yuri's heart began to race.

“What in the seven seas is he doing?” he murmured.

Otabek raised a brow. “He didn't tell you anything?”

“Gods, no. You think that idiot tells anyone anything he thinks? He just acts!”

“I guess it was meant as a surprise.” Otabek shrugged. “He probably didn't want anyone to know, in case it got out before he could do the big reveal.”

Yuri scowled. “But Eros isn't even staying. This whole thing is temporary. Why bother?”

“Trying to be hospitable, I'd guess.”

Yuri ran a hand roughly over his face. If the whole castle knew by now, then there was no doubt that Lilia and Yakov knew as well. _They_ weren't going to do or say anything about this – they were intent on playing the “wait and see” game. Watchful eyes were everywhere, taking in every minute detail, but Viktor didn't seem to care about any of that. Whatever his intentions, he was pursuing it earnestly.

Years ago, he may have been able to guess what his cousin was thinking, but Yuri could only broadly speculate now.

If he had to guess...

“He wants something,” Yuri said. “I'm sure of it.”

“Everyone wants something. That's not that unusual.”

“No, but... Something about this isn't right. I don't like it one bit.” Yuri twirled his trident in his hands, eyes running along the smooth silver, magically charmed to be light in his hands. He met Otabek's eyes again, burning with determination and drive. If Viktor couldn't be bothered to look out for himself, then someone else would have to do it for him.

He was too young back then, too powerless, but now...

Yuri clenched his weapon tightly in his fist. So be it.

“I think I need to pay someone a little visit.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to clarify something about the royal family: Viktor and Yurio are cousins, but they're technically first cousins once removed. (Google is telling me Yurio could be considered a nephew? But fuck that, they're cousins.) Viktor was first cousins with Sasha, but they weren't all that close. (And to anyone wondering about Yurio's “we're not even blood related” comment, don't worry, we'll get into that in the near future, though you could probably guess where I'm going with this.)
> 
> Nikolai is quite a bit older than Yakov in this AU (they're brothers, if that wasn't clear enough in the text!), but mermaids live a long-ass time in this universe so that doesn't matter all that much/isn't unusual by their standards. (It's also why no one's rushed Viktor into marriage yet – he's still pretty young by their standards, so no one's pulling the “when's the NEXT heir gonna be born/adopted?” crap yet. Not to Viktor's face, anyway.)
> 
> Also, yes, Celestino is a narwhal mermaid. Precisely because I find the idea of him poking his pupils with a giant forehead horn to be amusing. And because narwhals are so under-used in this kind of AU. They're the unicorns of the sea, damnit! REPRESENT!!!!
> 
> Coming up next chapter: MOTHERFUCKING JJ!!!!!!!!! /airhorns


	5. expecting just a little bit too much from the wounded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Vicmas everyone! It's still Viktor's birthday where I am, so today you all get a 25 page chapter update. (Omg, 25 pages on the 25th of December, I swear I didn't plan this out.) I hope it's worth the wait. <3 Ilu all.
> 
> Chapter title is from “3 Libras” by A Perfect Circle (please go listen to this song/band they're so good)
> 
> -
> 
> TW: There's a panic attack in this chapter. It's not extremely detailed (most of it is from Viktor and his outsider POV, so it's mostly him not knowing what to do while Yuuri's trying to calm himself down). If you need to skip this part, then start skipping at:
> 
> “Yuuri's breath caught in his throat, heart racing in his chest.”
> 
> and don't come back into the story until this line here:
> 
> “No one thought too highly of Makar”
> 
> I'm also gonna say that Yuuri's panic attack is based off my own personal experiences with my own attacks and that of others I know/have helped. If that doesn't reflect your own experiences and that bothers you then I am sorry, I'm just going off what I personally know. I'm also not implying that what Yuuri asks Viktor to do is THE way to handle a panic attack (ideally he should talk slower and probably ask way less questions), it's just what has helped me and a friend of mine in the past, and I felt it made the most sense for Viktor to do as someone who has no idea how to handle the situation but desperately wants to help anyway. Viktor's no mental illness expert in this AU, he's gotta learn the hard way. Also, this will come up later in the fic, but this Yuuri is one who has been to therapy and has years of experience dealing with his mental illness. He has the ability to help himself as best he can, and given that he's lived alone for about a little more than a year he's had to, he just needed the extra boost to help center himself in the moment and regain control. I hope all of that makes sense.

_“So you've made up your mind.”_

_Minako gazed down at Yuuri from above, her form looming over him. Her long, red and white triangular fins jutted outward from her back, almost giving the appearance of a cape blowing backwards from a gentle breeze. At least that was the shape they took when she stepped out of the water and onto land. She looked regal then as she did now, befitting of an older and much more experienced Sea Witch._

_Today, she was partaking in one of the oldest and most important traditions a Sea Witch could engage in: the tattooing of their pupil, the very symbol of their finished and completed training._

_Minako's hands, clasped together before her, held tightly onto a shining red light. It was her magic, building up in strength and intensity, readying itself for the coming task. The few strands of light that escaped through the cracks of her hand bounced off her face, her long brown hair, on the angular surfaces of her small and private cave, and on Yuuri's yet untouched and unmarked body. It would hurt. A lot. A magical tattoo wasn't just the marking of ones body, it was also the passing of magic from one to another, a silent yet loud statement of succession. Minako would be leaving her mark on him in more ways than one, and it would take a long time. The day was only just ending and they most likely wouldn't be done until morning._

_But Yuuri was more than ready. It wasn't fear he felt, but anticipation. A readiness for the next step. He'd spent the last year under Minako's care, travelling across both land and water, learning all that he could from her. She was both an incredibly talented Sea Witch and a trusted and valued friend of his family for longer than he had been alive; if anyone could decide whether or not he was ready to be out on his own, it was her._

_And as of a couple days ago, she had._

_Yuuri nodded. “I have.”_

_Minako's eyes, piercing as any blade, stared straight through him as if she could find the truth hiding inside of him._

_“I suppose so,” she concurred. “It's hard to believe this day has finally come. You know I don't have a whole lot of experience with this. You're the only one I've mentored, so there will be no rushing this. If we're doing this, then we're doing it right. Are you prepared for that?”_

_Yuuri nodded again._

_Minako's eyes narrowed. They looked severe, with the dark red shadow she had painted on her eyelids trailing down the inner corner of her eyes and a little down her nose in twin lines. It made her features appear sharper than normal, almost intimidating. But there was a softness hiding beneath the harsh makeup. As stern and unforgiving as she could be, Minako never acted out of anything but love._

_Minako nodded towards his undulating tentacles. “And you're certain you want your entire body done like this? It's such a shame, covering your natural colour like this. You'd be saving yourself a lot of pain if you decided otherwise.”_

_Yuuri glanced down his body, at his long and dark blue tentacles. He supposed the colour suited him: moody, unassuming, blending into the environment around him. But he knew what he wanted, what he needed to do. A new him required something... different. A new exterior would help him get into the proper mindset._

_“Do your parents know what you're doing?”_

_“Did you tell them?” Yuuri countered._

_Minako's red lips quirked upwards into a smirk. “Were you expecting me to? That's not my job, kiddo. It's yours to be honest with them. I'm sure they would have words for you if they knew what you were planning. And that's not getting into what your sister would say.”_

_Yuuri swallowed. It had been little more than a year since he'd last seen any of them. He'd returned home for a brief visit, his training with Celestino and Phichit put on hold so they could all have a small break and visit their families, but one mistake had turned the visit disastrous, and now..._

_Now it was best for everyone if he stayed away, if he became someone else entirely. He owed it to everyone to do so._

_Deep in his heart, he missed his family very much. His mother's meals and compassion, his father's kindness and patient understanding when Yuuri overworked himself and needed to be reminded to take a rest. He even missed his sister Mari's ceaseless teasing, her constantly trying to goad him into helping out around the inn for once. He didn't deserve any of them. But his mind had been made up. If he backed out now, then he'd never go through with it, and then what else would that make him besides a failure? What could possibly be worse than that? He didn't dare find out._

_Yuuri shook his head. “I have to do this. It's for the best.”_

_Minako sighed. “You say that, but I have my doubts. No one can escape themselves for long. Starting a whole new life, pretending to be something else... No one can keep that up forever.”_

_“But you're not stopping me,” Yuuri countered again. They'd talked his plans over long into the night, when he'd first come to her with them. Despite her reservations, not once had she denied him help, denied him anything. She'd even helped him create the new image he'd wanted for himself. Offered him a name, one that was spoken of on land, was revered in its own way. The sound of it alone sent shivers racing through him. “Eros.” It sounded confident, otherworldly. Even a little sultry. It'd be easy to get into the head-space of someone entirely new with a name like that. No one would ever connect a being like Eros with someone as pathetic as him._

_“Why? So you can hide from me as well?” Minako teased. She chuckled to herself. “Besides, as much as I worry, I can't exactly criticize. I spent much of my youth doing whatever I pleased, ignoring my elder's advice. Sometimes the only way to learn is to get out there and just experience everything, mistakes and all. I only ask that you come back to me if you ever land yourself in trouble again. I won't see my pupil self-destruct again over anything that can be fixed, all right?”_

_“I promise,” Yuuri agreed. “I won't have to, because it won't happen again. I know better now.”_

_“I know you do. But still.” Minako's eyes fell to her hands, to the red glow contained between them. “If you're ready, then we might as well start. Tell me if it gets to be too much. We'll take as many breaks as needed until it's complete.”_

_Yuuri sucked in his next breath, his body tensing as he watched Minako open her hands, the red light temporarily blinding, and lower them to his body. He'd been told what to expect, but nothing prepared him for the sharp pain that flooded his side as she pressed her hands against his skin, as though she were actually burning her magic into him. He bit the back of his hand, eyes squeezed shut as he willed himself to acclimate. Minako's hands moved slowly, oh so slowly across his skin, dragging the burning sensation along with it._

_When Yuuri opened his eyes again, he spied black inked deep into his fair skin where Minako's hands had just been, along with the beginning of silver spots. Despite the tears stinging the corners of his eyes, he couldn't help but exhale heavily with relief. This was it. The beginning of a new start. He would make it count._

_He would never let anyone down ever again._

 

\--

 

“Wow, this is some place.” Phichit whistled as he took a good look around Yuuri's new work space. He grinned over at his best friend and waggled his eyebrows. “I wonder where His Highness got so many great ideas. Must have been someone very knowledgeable and talented. I wonder who?”

Yuuri snorted. He'd taken a seat on one of the clam-styled chairs and took to just watching Phichit explore the area as he pleased. None of his things had been moved in yet (on account of his things being far, far away), but he was growing accustomed to the place all the same. True to Viktor's word, every night Yuuri was able to spend time in his new space while Viktor leisurely swam out in the garden. Yuuri hadn't given the word on whether he'd like to actually work in it yet, but it was nice to have some alone time in a room that was solely his to do with what he wished.

(Though truth be told, just being there made his body itch to work his magic on _something_. But without his own ingredients and materials at hand, what could he really do? He'd already borrowed a magicked make-up palette from Phichit in order to keep up his appearance, he couldn't borrow anything else. And going back home to get some of his things hadn't exactly been brought up yet.)

“I'm sorry, am I not praising you enough?” Yuuri teased back. “Do you require more flattery?”

“I'll roll over and die if I'm not properly praised every five minutes,” Phichit replied solemnly. A moment passed before he broke out into hearty laughter.

Yuuri laughed as well. He clasped his hands together and proclaimed, “Bless the gods for my fantastic, talented friend and his amazing ideas! We would surely be lost without him. How's that?”

Phichit snickered. “That's a decent start. Feel free to keep going.” He swam over and took the seat next to Yuuri, sighing loudly as he made himself nice and comfortable. “Mm, nice. I wasn't expecting the giant ceiling window. It's a good idea now that I see it, though. Really brightens up the room.”

Yuuri nodded his agreement. “Viktor sort of, ah, asked me about that? About what kind of windows I liked. He asked me a lot of things, actually.” He shimmied in his seat, his tentacles curling around themselves. The thought of everything Viktor had done for him was almost embarrassing. Who seriously went to all of that trouble? “I never imagined it was for something like this. I still can't believe he even went to the trouble.”

Phichit's brow raised. “'Viktor,' huh?”

Yuuri froze. “ _Prince_ Viktor, I mean.”

“Riiiight.” Phichit narrowed his eyes. “When did you get on a first-name basis with His Highness? After he gifted you this place?”

“... He did ask that I call him by name.”

“Uh huh.”

Yuuri frowned. “It's not that unusual. I'm sure he asks everyone to do that.”

“Not _everyone_ ,” Phichit disagreed. “But you're right. I'm imagining things. Ignore me.”

“Phichit...” Yuuri warned.

Phichit held his hands up. “What? I didn't say anything.”

“But I know what you're implying, and I'm telling you you're wrong.” Yuuri glanced at the closed door. Viktor was somewhere out there. Probably nowhere near enough to hear them, but still... best to err on the side of caution. Yuuri lowered his voice. “Prince Viktor is just being... familiar. He was like that when I first met him, too. He's just a very personal merperson. It doesn't mean anything.”

Phichit crossed his arms. “That's not what I heard. You called me up right after you met him and went on and on about how nice he was. And the banquet? Don't tell me you didn't see how he was looking at you the entire time. I saw those eyes. Those were not innocent eyes. He even dragged you off for 'alone time.' Which you never gave me the details of, by the way.”

Yuuri paused, cheeks warming. “That's different. He was just messing around. There was liquor involved and...”

“Nobody asks me to help them find some merperson they just met, who might as well be halfway across the ocean mind you, because they're messing around,” Phichit deadpanned.

“Then there's some other explanation. It's not – it's not because of me. Especially when I'm just Yuuri. Yuuri is ...” Yuuri raised his hands but then dropped them back to his lap, at a loss for words. He lowered his head. Might as well just say it. “There's nothing special there, is what I'm getting at.”

Phichit frowned. “Don't talk about my best friend like that. You're incredibly special.”

“You know what I mean.”

(“No, I don't,” Phichit mumbled under his breath, but Yuuri elected to ignore that.)

“He doesn't act like that when I'm like _this_ ,” Yuuri explained further, gesturing to himself. 'Eros' couldn't be more different from Yuuri. For all intents and purposes, they were two different merpeople. The “Yuuri” Viktor had initially met wasn't even the “true” Yuuri, either. No such merperson ever existed, except when Yuuri needed a simple and convenient disguise. An octopus stood out, but a regular merperson blended in just fine.

As far as he was concerned, the real Yuuri disappeared once the ink sank deep in his skin and he assumed his new name. And he wasn't going back.

“In fact,” Yuuri said, voice quieter, eyes glued to his lap, “he was pretty apathetic towards me until only less than a week ago. He's nice to everyone else in the castle as well. So it's not either versions of me. Whatever is going on in Viktor's head, it has nothing to do with me. I'm just an excuse. A novelty. Once he gets bored with me, he'll move onto something or someone else.”

Phichit winced, as though his words caused him pain. “Yuuri,” he whispered.

Yuuri stiffened. “It's only the truth.”

If Phichit had anymore protests left within him, they were forced aside when bright, silver light suddenly began to flicker from the ornament hanging by the doorway. A moment later a hesitant knock rapped on the door. Viktor's voice followed soon afterwards, Yuuri not quite catching the words but able to pick out the urgency. He glanced at Phichit, who only shrugged at him. Yuuri exhaled and rose from his seat. Might as well go see who it was.

He paused before opening the door, allowing himself a moment to slip his persona back on, as easily as one would comb back their hair or slip on a familiar and well-loved piece of jewellery. He could be himself when it was just him and Phichit, but in front of anyone else he had a role to play.

Yuuri opened the door and smiled down at the stranger floating there, their eyes large as they took him in. A servant? Not one of Viktor's, but definitely someone from around the castle.

“Hello,” Yuuri greeted, drawing out the syllables sweetly. The servant instantly flushed. “What brings you out here today?”

The servant swallowed audibly. “Um...”

“Eros!” Viktor called out from afar, drawing Yuuri's attention up and over to where Viktor was frantically swimming over to them. “I'm so sorry, I didn't realize anyone had snuck past me. We'll just...”

“It's fine.”

“It's fine?” Viktor repeated.

Yuuri nodded. He turned back to the servant. They looked uncertain, yet ever hopeful - a classic new customer. Either they didn't visit Phichit often or Yuuri's reputation alone was making them indecisive. Maybe both. Not that it really mattered in the end. What mattered was what Yuuri could do for them.

The servant swallowed again. “I – I'd heard... they were saying... is this really a shop?”

Was it? An ancient, yearning voice deep inside him hissed yes. His magic had dug its teeth deep into him and it was screaming to be freed, and who was he to turn away the first opportunity to come knocking at his door?

Another part of him whispered _what if?_

But the screaming was far louder.

Yuuri moved backwards and gestured inwards. “It is. Would you like to come in?”

Anticipation shimmered in the servant's eyes. They glanced back at the prince, who only smiled and said, “If he says to come in, then why not? I hope you find what you're looking for.”

Emboldened, the servant swam inside the shop, taking in the unfamiliar sights all around them. Yuuri watched them for a moment before he could no longer ignore Viktor delaying by the door. The prince's eyes darted back and forth between Yuuri's and the inside of the shop, though he made no move to enter or leave.

Yuuri cleared his throat. “Well, I suppose I should be going...”

Viktor nodded. “Right. I'll just... be around, then. Oh, if I notice anyone else trying to sneak out here, should I leave them be? Have you officially made your decision?”

Yuuri paused. “Maybe... maybe not officially. But I'm leaning towards an answer. I'll get back to you?”

Viktor smiled. “Take as much time as you need.” He gave a small wave good-bye and then turned and swam off. Yuuri watched him go, bottom lip sucked in between his teeth as an odd feeling fell over him. It was strange, but he almost... wanted to call Viktor back. Invite him inside. But that was nonsensical. Besides, he preferred to do his work without an audience other than the intended one, if he could help it. It was just the way he'd always done it.

“Uh, Eros?”

Yuuri turned back towards the customer and Phichit. “Yes?”

“This is great and all,” Phichit began, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, “but you're kind of low on ingredients and materials.”

Yuuri froze. He'd forgotten. “So I am.”

The customer fidgeted. “Is this a bad time? Should I could come back?”

“No, no, it's fine. We'll work something out.” Yuuri ran his fingers through his hair. It was fine, he could make it work. Ingredients were only required for some magic, after all. Maybe he'd luck out and wouldn't need anything extra. “It really all depends on what you're here for. What is it you need?”

“Well.” The customer laughed softly. “This is kinda embarrassing. But, um. I have a date tonight?”

Yuuri blinked. “Oh. Congratulations. Are you looking for a gift, then?”

“Not exactly. I was thinking – I just. I've seen you from afar, and if you don't mind me saying so, you always look so beautiful.”

Yuuri stared at them. Behind the customer, Phichit pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle his sudden laughter.

“Thank you,” Yuuri said after a pause, returning to smiling sweetly at the customer. It wasn't like it was the first time he'd heard that one. (Flattery only got customers so far, though. Which was to say 'not very.') “But I'm afraid I'm at a loss for what it is you want, if not a gift for your suitor.”

“I want to look like you,” the customer blurted out loud, hands clasped before them as though they were pleading.

Yuuri frowned. “I beg your pardon?”

“Ah, not exactly like you,” they corrected. “I know you're capable of that, but what I mean is... I want you to work your magic on me. Make me beautiful for my date.”

“But my dear,” Yuuri crooned, “you're already beautiful. Surely your suitor thinks so too, seeing as they've agreed to a date with you. You'd only be wasting your time and coin on me.”

“But it's not a waste!” they protested. “Surely you've noticed the stares you get. No one can keep their eyes off of you. I just... I would like to look my best. If you can help me at all, then I ask that you please do. I can pay the price.” They reached for a small coin purse, attached to a wrap that was wound around their hip, and held it up in offering.

“Yes, but...” Yuuri bit his lip. What to do, what to do. He mulled it over in his head, hyper-aware aware of each second that passed as both the customer and Phichit watched him think it over. It wasn't like their request was unreasonable. Initially he'd thought that perhaps they were asking for his more taboo magic (his heart raced at the utter thought of it) but thankfully it sounded like they were only after his make-up skills. He could live with that, and it was simple enough magic. The pressed pigments in the palettes he and Phichit had started making and collecting years ago needed only a touch of it to hold on their face, to last without water washing it away or ruining the pigmentation itself. It was why typically only Sea Witches bore such colours on their faces; they were the only ones who could do it as they pleased. Occasionally royalty attended important events done up, but again, it was all thanks to their royal Sea Witch that they were able to do so. So to show up at a date like that would certainly be a big surprise...

The mental image of his customer arriving at their date, smiling and glamoured and absolutely sparkling, ready to have the time of their life, sealed it.

Yuuri nodded. “All right, I'll do it. I won't be altering you in any significant way. A little make-up will be enough to accomplish what you seek. I'll make sure you look absolutely ravishing.”

The customer beamed. “Thank you. And the price?”

“Only a handful of coin. And some good company.” Yuuri tilted his head and winked at them. He withheld the chuckle that bubbled inside him at the intense blushing of his customer's cheeks. Sometimes he just couldn't help himself.

Yuuri lead the customer over to one of the clam seats and asked that they make themselves comfortable. They did as asked, smiling up at him expectantly, their tail fin gently swishing back and forth excitedly. Yuuri leaned back and carefully examined the customer's bare face, several different ideas nearly tripping over themselves in his head. Ah, but how to execute it when he was without a make-up palette at hand? There was the one he'd borrowed from Phichit back in his room, but it didn't contain the colours he had in mind.

As if reading his mind, Phichit caught Yuuri's attention with a wave of his hand. “Should I go grab some things from my personal stash? I'll only be a minute.”

Yuuri couldn't help but smile, relief washing through him. He hadn't wanted to ask, but if Phichit was freely offering, then what else could he do but accept? “Yes, that would be perfect. I'll pay you back later.”

“Pssh. No payment required. I'll be right back!”

After Phichit had gone to retrieve his make-up collection, Yuuri went and took the empty seat next to his customer. Might as well collect some information while they waited, it very well could help him with some aesthetic decisions. Yuuri leaned back against the chair, body relatively relaxed and turned towards the customer, and rested his hands in his lap.

“Sooo,” Yuuri drawled, “tell me about this suitor of yours. What are they like?”

Asking the customer that question was like opening a dam. An outpouring of long and loving descriptions of their new beau flooded out of them. They described how they had met nearly a year ago, after she had been hired at the castle. They detailed the long and terribly sweet build-up before they'd gotten the courage to ask her out.

Yuuri listened patiently, nodding every now and then, taking in the excitement and anticipation almost vicariously. He couldn't help but compare the story to his own, the memory of his own heart fluttering when he'd bumped into Viktor at the market and met his eyes for the first time. The way the world had silenced itself all around him, how he'd been too taken in by him to care that Viktor had touched his hand and asked him to spend the day with him. How easily conversation had come, as if they'd known each other for longer than a handful of hours. How normal Yuuri had felt, in Viktor's company.

(How long it'd been since he'd been able to feel like that.)

It hadn't been all that long ago, really, but it might as well have happened in a whole other life. It certainly wasn't happening again anytime soon.

Yuuri barely held back a sigh. His love life might be an utter (and non-existent) disaster, but at least his customer would be starting theirs off on a good note. He'd make sure of that.

 

\--

 

It wasn't as if Viktor was lingering near Yuuri's work space because he was bored and a little lonely and without anything to do. He was just... curious. One of Lilia's servants was in there right now, having some sort of miracle performed, and Viktor wanted to know what it was. Even more so, he wanted to see it happening. He'd only been able to witness Yuuri's magic a handful of times. The first had unnerved him, but the second had utterly entranced him. What would the third time be like?

But, alas. It wasn't meant to be, not at this time. Yuuri's new space was private, and Viktor had made a silent promise to himself that he wouldn't force himself in there. He wouldn't enter unless invited. (More than anything, he wanted to be _invited_ in.) Viktor played absently with the ends of one of his braids, twirling the silver hair around his fingers, eyes occasionally glancing up at the still closed door from a few feet away. How long would a visit with Yuuri take? Phichit had left, returned with some nondescript objects in his arms, and then left again some time ago, smiling and waving at Viktor on his way back into the castle. It took everything Viktor had to not stop Phichit and just ask what was going on in there. In a way, that would be cheating. If Yuuri ever wanted to share, then he would. Directly. Viktor wouldn't snoop around for information.

Still. Floating about the garden, with nothing else for his mind to latch onto, it made for an extremely long and boring evening.

Voices floated Viktor's way. He looked up again. The door was open this time. Lilia's servant swam out, and they looked completely different. A soft shade of green lined their eyes, the colour on their eyelids smoked out and blended with just a touch of yellow. Their lashes were long, almost as long as Yuuri kept his. Whatever Yuuri had done with the rest of their face, it looked soft and inviting. Viktor couldn't help himself but stare, mesmerized by the transformation.

Distantly, he heard their voices conversing.

“It should last the night,” Yuuri was explaining. Even from afar, his voice sounded so warm, almost leaving one with the impression of being wrapped up in an intimate embrace. Viktor bit his lip. Yuuri spoke a pitch or two deeper as “Eros” than he had when Viktor had met him as “Yuuri,” words enunciated in a way that had something deep in Viktor trembling. Was that intentional? Did Yuuri know he sounded like that when he spoke?

“Whenever you're ready,” Yuuri continued to explain, “just wipe it away with your hands and it should all come off without a problem. Be careful not to touch your face too much until then. I know you'll feel tempted, given you're not used to this, but it would be a shame if it got smudged before your evening is over.”

“Don't worry, I won't. Thank you so much,” the servant replied. “I can't wait for her to see it. She's going to love it.”

Yuuri smiled. “I hope so. But more importantly, do you love it?”

“Yes! I didn't think green would look good, but I love it.”

“Then my job is done. Go and have lots of fun.”

“I will. Thank you again.” The servant bowed deeply before waving and taking off. They paused momentarily as they drew near Viktor to bow again. “Good evening, Your Highness. How do I look?”

“Good evening,” Viktor replied easily. “You look perfectly beautiful. Did Eros do that?”

The servant giggled and nodded. “I have to go now. Have a good night, Your Highness.”

“You as well,” Viktor said, waving off the servant as they hurried off. Wherever they were going, they sure looked excited. Must be nice, to be able to come and go however they wished in their free time. But Viktor knew better than to outwardly complain; there was someone right behind him who had it far worse.

Curiosity got the better of him. Viktor glanced over his shoulder to see if Yuuri was still there or if he'd already retreated to the privacy of his space. But he was still there, arms loosely crossed as he watched the servant swimming away. Then his eyes caught Viktor's.

 _Don't go back in_ , Viktor wanted to call out. He wanted desperately for some company. He'd intended to give Yuuri all the space he wanted – it was what he needed after all – but Viktor hadn't predicted how much further the distance between them would become as a result of it. Was it selfish to want what he didn't deserve so much?

Eventually, finally, Yuuri closed the door behind him and swam over, his body ever graceful as his tentacles pushed through the water. Viktor swallowed and watched.

“I think I've made up my mind,” Yuuri said to him as he drew near.

Viktor blinked, trying to recall just what exactly he was referring to. “Oh! You did?”

Yuuri nodded. He cast his gaze aside, hands toying with each other as he seemed to give his decision a final, last turn over. “I think... I think I'd like it if my new space was a shop. I want to work, at least a little bit. I, um. I get kinda restless during the day.”

Viktor smiled. Yuuri talked so smoothly and confidently, if a touch briefly, to everyone around him. One could easily believe that he really was a talented and sought after Sea Witch from afar. But he didn't talk to Viktor like that. He could barely make eye contact half of the time. Viktor itched to find out why exactly that was, if it was just nerves, or something else making the Sea Witch fidgety.

“It must have felt good to get some of your magic out of your system,” he said.

Yuuri nodded. “Really good, if I'm being honest.”

“I want you to be honest with me.” Viktor inched closer, not really thinking much of it until he noticed Yuuri inch back in response. Right, Yuuri had quite a big personal bubble. He could respect that, no problem.

“It's settled, then. I'll inform the guards first thing in the morning. I'm not sure how fast word will spread, but...” Viktor paused. Yuuri's attention had drifted off to the side, eyes honed in on something far away, his brow creasing with a small frown. Viktor turned to look – was there another customer already? – but found nothing out of the ordinary. Just fish and coral reef.

“Viktor?”

“Or maybe it's already spreading,” Viktor murmured, mostly to himself. Surely Yuuri had seen something. But no matter, it was probably just another curious servant checking out the area. Viktor shrugged it off. “Like I was saying. I'm sure you'll have no problem getting plenty of customers.”

Yuuri inhaled deeply. “Right, plenty.”

“That's a good thing! I'm sure Phichit will appreciate your taking some of the load off as well, he's pretty busy during the day as well. We'll have to make a list of things you'll need for your practice as well. I can have several of my servants shop for you at the market first thing in the morning.”

Yuuri shook his head. “You don't have to do that, I'll be fine.”

“Nonsense. It's perfectly okay. And don't worry about the cost, it's all on me.”

Yuuri's frown deepened. “I can't accept that, Your Highness.”

“Viktor.”

“Viktor,” Yuuri amended. “That's... that's too much. If I could just go home, I could grab my supplies, no money wasted. I have ingredients you can't even get from around here that I may need.”

“I understand that,” Viktor said, bracing himself for Yuuri's reaction, “but I'm not sure how my parents will react if they find out you suddenly went back home without warning, even if you came back right away. But we could always go and ask permission. I'm sure they'll say yes when we explain the situation carefully to them. We could bring along a few guards for good measure. They may accept those conditions.”

“I'm... not so sure of that.” Something in his tone had Viktor tensing, sensing immediate danger. And it came in the form of, “Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this mean they don't even know about my opening up shop here?”

Viktor chanced a weak smile. “Not yet?”

Yuuri sighed. “So you just went ahead and did this without consulting anyone. I'm also guessing I shouldn't even bother asking if you've talked to them about letting me go yet, either.”

“I... haven't gotten to it quite yet, no.”

Yuuri stared at him, for far longer than Viktor felt comfortable with, before he sighed again and looked away. “I've changed my mind. We can talk to your servants in the morning. Basic supplies will do until you've talked to the king and queen. We'll worry about my personal supply if... when you've talked to them. I'll pay you back in full when I make enough money from customers, if that's all right with you?”

... Oh. Oh no. How did he mess up again so soon? Things were starting to go well, Viktor had thought, but now it felt like Yuuri was suddenly shutting him out again. He'd meant to speak with his parents, but between his work and seeing to Yuuri having personal time in the evenings, the chance had never really presented itself. He couldn't just do it in front of everyone else, it was far too personal a conversation. They would have questions, and the answers he had? Absolutely shameful. Viktor didn't even want to think about those.

And yet because of his cowardice, he'd managed to fail them all.

“That's perfectly fine,” Viktor said, quietly. “You really don't need to pay me anything, but if it will put you at ease, then I'll accept.”

“Good. Was there anything else you wanted to do tonight?”

“No, not really.” Viktor offered what he hoped was a reassuring, confident smile. “It is getting quite late. Let's turn in for the night?”

“As you wish, then.”

It occurred to Viktor on their way back inside the castle that he really should go and speak to Yakov and Lilia, right then and there. They would still be up at that hour, settling down for the night in their wing of the castle. Viktor imagined it in his head: swimming up to their door, knocking on the large and overly decorated door to their private bedchamber, and they'd open the door and...

Viktor tensed.

No, not yet. He couldn't just yet.

He watched Yuuri out of the corner of his eye, took in the downcast eyes and neutral expression. He didn't need to be able to read minds to sense Yuuri's current mood and the cause of it.

Soon. Viktor would do it soon.

 

\--

 

All attention was on Yuuri the next morning.

“So I hear you've opened a shop in our garden.” Queen Lilia's tone was easy-going enough, but the intensity behind her eyes had Yuuri practically shrivelling in his seat all the same. Despite being at the castle for a few weeks now, he still had no idea how to read her. Or any of the royal family, for that matter. The king, queen, and youngest prince were equally stone-faced most of the time, while Viktor was just... well, Viktor.

“It was my idea,” Viktor spoke up, smiling pleasantly at his mother.

She turned her keen eyes onto Viktor. “Was it now?”

“Well, Eros did agree to it, but the idea was initially mine, yes. Did you not hear of my servants working away at it? I did tell them to not speak a word, but you can't help what others see I suppose.”

“Oh, I heard,” the queen replied.

Yakov grunted. “I presume you have all of the details already worked out.”

“Of course. What kind of prince would I be if I hadn't?” Viktor winked at Yuuri from across the table. “It's all settled. Right, Eros?”

Yuuri only nodded, not trusting his mouth to answer while everyone was so focused on him.

Prince Yuri huffed. He was slouched over the table, chin resting on the palm of his hand, his eyes no less piercing than the king and queen. “What a waste of time. We don't need two magic shops in the castle. We already have one magic weirdo.”

 _Was that why you were scouting out the area last night, because you disapproved?_ Yuuri wanted to ask, but he bit his tongue. Perhaps Prince Yuri didn't think so, he had been far away at the time, but Yuuri had caught him all the same. It wasn't even the first time Yuuri had caught the young prince spying over the course of the past week; several times he'd gotten the distinct chilling feeling of someones eyes watching him, and every time he'd caught sight of fair blond hair or a dark grey and red fin hastily disappearing behind coral reef. It was a big garden, however, and it belonged to the royal family, not him. The prince was free to do what he pleased... even if what he wanted to do was a tad creepy.

Phichit scoffed. “Are you kidding? This is great! The next time someone asks for magic I'm still learning, I can just send them to Eros instead of turning them away.” He clapped his hands together, eyes practically shining with excitement. “I might even get a mini vacation, since everyone is going to want to check out what Eros is capable of.”

Yuuri swallowed thickly. He hadn't thought of it that way.

Viktor chuckled. “Maybe not quite a vacation, but your evenings will probably be free for a while. That's really the only time Eros's shop will be open.”

That didn't dim Phichit's spirit in the slightest. “ _An early night off_ ,” he whispered reverently.

Servants entered the room, carrying with them their breakfast. As food was being offered around the table, a servant bent down to catch Yuuri's ear and whispered, “May I come visit your shop tonight? There's something I have I'd liked charmed for good luck.”

Yuuri smiled through the panic and replied, “Of course. Bring it along with you and I'll see what I can do.”

He wasn't even inside the shop yet and already he was being approached.

Yuuri was used to customers and handling the public, but never the amount that Phichit handled day to day. That was the benefit of living a secretive life: he normally had control over who and how many were able to visit him. He'd built up a small and reliable customer base offering his services to those in need, relaying to them details of his private location with the promise they would keep it to themselves. Of course, emergencies had happened, some promises had been broken, but that had only added a handful of new, faithful customers to his clientele. His life – and his work – had still remained his own. And he'd preferred it that way. His customers understood what not to ask for. It'd made for comfortable work. But like this, with such a visible and known shop, now it was like he was out in open waters with nothing to hide behind or use as a defense. It was just him against whatever the ocean had in store for him.

Sure enough, later that evening when he and Viktor swam out to the garden, several merpeople were already waiting by the shop, talking amongst themselves until they noticed them arriving. They all smiled and bowed towards him.

“Wow, look at that! It's like I told you, plenty of customers,” Viktor said, beaming at him like this was the best news he'd heard all day. When Yuuri didn't answer, Viktor's smile softened. “Just do like you normally do, one at a time. All of your things are already inside, like we'd discussed. You're prepared.”

Yuuri inhaled. Right. It was too late to back out now. Besides, he'd chosen this – he could handle it. There would be a learning curve, surely, but nothing too major. He pulled his lips back into what he hoped was a charming smile and swam towards his new customers.

“Greetings,” he purred, his customers giggling and practically vibrating with anticipation. “Come right inside and I'll see what I can do for you.”

 

\--

 

It turned out there was _plenty_ he was able to do.

Most of it was fairly simple magic. The servant from before, for example, came to him that first night and brought along a necklace they wanted charmed for a good friend of theirs. It was a common enough request amongst his old customers, to have old keepsakes or gifts magically blessed so as to bring its owner a blessing in one form or another.

Several more came to him for bold and colourful make-up, having seen his work on the first customer from before. Word had spread fast through the castle and now more were interested in being glamoured for special occasions. The gender or age didn't matter, they came to him all the same in search of bold looks.

(Though Yuuri couldn't help but be a little surprised when Georgi, one of the nobility and a tutor to some of the young in the castle, dropped one night by declaring that he needed to look his best for when he would try and regain the “precious heart” of his “dear Anya.” Yuuri had no idea who he was talking about or why Georgi was so set on winning back someone he'd apparently only dated for about a month, and after five minutes of conversation he decided he was perfectly okay with that.)

An elderly mermaid came to him another night, muscles aching, to seek relief. Yuuri had done so gladly, concocting a long-lasting elixir for her in his new cauldron, magically moving both the water and the elixir inside so that the two didn't bleed into each other, and carefully massaged it into her skin. Not even a minute later the elderly woman was sighing and stretching her once aching back. She'd bowed deeply to him when the visit was over, praised his gifts for an embarrassingly long amount of time, and promised to visit again.

No one, thankfully, asked him for illusions. No one asked for him to change their physical form into something completely different. Each time someone entered his shop, Yuuri would hold his breath, wait for the inevitable. The subject was danced around, several customers acknowledging his rumoured skill in it, but no one sought it out for their own use. One mermaid did ask if they could see Yuuri transform into something, anything, simply out of curiosity. He'd politely declined, gave them some excuse about it being difficult (it wasn't) and lacking the stamina that day for it (he didn't). They'd thankfully accepted his answers and had swiftly moved on, no further questions asked. The request had left Yuuri a little off-kilter, as surprise inquiries concerning that sort of magic usually did, but they'd handled the rejection maturely.

Yuuri knew he should be thankful that no one was actively pushing for it. Curiosity was fine, he couldn't begrudge anyone of that.

But he also knew it was only a matter of time before someone would eventually want what he couldn't give.

 

\--

 

That day came far sooner than Yuuri would have liked.

He'd just finished with what he'd thought would be his last customer for the day when silver, diamond shaped light began to play across the walls. Sure enough, the ornament by the door had begun to glimmer, signalling the approach of either another customer or perhaps Viktor coming to check in on him. Yuuri stretched his limbs, bones cracking. If it was the former, then tired as he was, he would fit one more into the night. After a week of work, he was already close to being able to pay Viktor back for the supplies, so one more customer would get him that much closer.

Yuuri began to swim over to the door, but before he could reach it the door was already opening and someone was pushing themselves inside. Yuuri had never seen the man before. He looked young, barely an adult, with dark hair, a strong jaw, and thick, expressive eyebrows. The lower half of his body was that of a whale shark, a dark grey-blue with small white spots and lines.

“Hello?” said the strange man said, eyes immediately honing in on Yuuri. They brightened considerably. “Wow. So you really do exist.”

Yuuri paused in front of the merman, not entirely sure how to read him. “I do. What is it you se—”

“You'll never guess how long I've been looking for you,” the man interrupted, as though he hadn't heard a word Yuuri had said.

Yuuri withheld a sigh. One of _those_ customers, then. “No, I suppose I wouldn't know. Long enough I take it?”

“Too long. I'd heard all the stories about your powers and — well, you must already know about they say. I searched and searched all I could and found nothing. I was just about to give up on finding you when I heard at the market today that you were actually working over here now, right in the open. What good timing, too! I'm running out of time.” He thrust out his hand, the grin on his face almost too large. “The name's Jean-Jacques, by the way, but friends call me JJ. I'm glad to _finally_ meet you, Eros.”

“Likewise,” Yuuri forced out, accepting the offered hand for only a quick shake. JJ squeezed his hand almost like he was trying to choke the life out of it. Over-excitement, Yuuri mentally reasoned.

“So,” he tried again, “what is it exactly you came looking for? You said something about 'running out of time'?”

“I'm surprised you have to ask,” JJ replied, hands resting comfortably on his narrow hips. “I want what everyone who seeks you wants, I'd say.”

Yuuri arched a brow. It was late, he was tired, and he wasn't exactly in the mood to try and play “guess exactly what I'm here for” with a stranger. “Everyone wants something different. You'll have to be more specific than that, I'm afraid.”

JJ's smile widened and he thrust out his hands dramatically. “I need you to change me! I'm ready for a newer, better me!”

“No,” Yuuri said without a moment wasted.

JJ lowered his arms, his too bright smile replaced with bafflement. “But... it's what I need. It's what you're good at. That's what they all say.”

Yuuri sucked in his next breath of air. So the day for this had finally arrived. Patience, patience would get him through this. “Right. I understand that. Unfortunately, the answer is still no. I can offer you anything else but that.”

JJ's brow creased with a frown. “But you don't understand. I have a fiancée, and she...”

Yuuri held up a hand, halting JJ in the middle of his explanation. “The reasons don't matter, because it's still not happening.”

“But they _do_ matter,” JJ resisted. Before Yuuri knew it JJ had swam closer, too close for Yuuri's liking, and he was still talking. Yuuri stared up at him, willing himself to not back away. A poor listener with a matching sense of boundaries? He'd dealt with that before, too.

“I need to be the absolute best for her,” JJ was saying. “She deserves it. I need to be strong, I need to be the best hunter, to provide for her and our future family. I'm good as I am now, but 'good' isn't good enough.” He glanced down momentarily, eyes on his lower half — the half of him that derived itself from a gentle, leisurely creature not exactly known for striking hunting habits. His expression hardened, and for a brief second Yuuri thought he saw a flicker of shame in his dark blue eyes.

“You're the only one that can help me become better,” came the quiet utterance. “I can't... be the best. Not like this.”

Yuuri winced. So that was the problem. Sadly, it wasn't the first time he'd heard such a request. The scenario was all too familiar; he also knew what JJ was really asking for, and what the result could potentially be. To try and change oneself for others, no matter what the official reason was... No, he couldn't think about it. Should never think of it. Yuuri swallowed, his throat suddenly thick and tight. He'd have to make JJ see reason.

“I'm sorry. I understand where you're coming from, but I won't do this. I wouldn't be making you 'better.' Just different. The only one who can better yourself is you.” A minute passed, JJ not responding or even looking at him. All right, then. Time to remind him exactly why it was a bad idea. Yuuri softened his voice, a sympathetic lilt to his voice as he added, “Believe me when I say your fiance wouldn't want this. If she has already agreed to marry you, then she loves you as you already are. You have nothing to prove to her.”

JJ turned his hardened eyes back on Yuuri, face flushed now from anger or desperation or the oncoming of some other large emotion, Yuuri didn't know. The intensity of it had Yuuri shifting backwards, momentarily stunned.

“But _I_ want this,” JJ declared.

What Yuuri did know is that he'd heard those exact words, once before.

Once before...

(It was only a few years ago, but it always felt like yesterday, the memories so close behind him, clinging to him like a shadow. He remembered all too vividly the look on his childhood friend's face, his plea for a chance to improve himself. Yuuri wasn't ready; he was finishing his training, but he wasn't done, and he had only really begun to get a handle on his shape-shifting powers.

In spite of all of that, he'd tried.

But there had been something important, something _devastatingly_ important, that he'd forgotten, or rather shoved into the darkest corners of his mind. There had been no accounting for the raw jealousy that had been eating away at him from the inside for a long time, the envy when he'd realized his best friends had chosen each other in his time away from home. The jealousy had been slowly eroding at him for too long, like water at stone, and then it had finally come out and it had infected everything like poison.

He couldn't properly remember the form his friend had taken. Only that it had been horrible. Painful. He could still remember the screaming, Takeshi's and his own.

No, he hadn't changed anyone since that time, and he never would again.)

Yuuri's breath caught in his throat, heart racing in his chest.

“You need to leave,” Yuuri whispered, barely getting the words out.

“What?”

“ _You need to leave_.”

JJ opened his mouth to say something, but Yuuri didn't care. He was already shoving JJ towards the door, forcing the damn thing open and JJ through it with a push of his arms and several of his tentacles. Yuuri slammed the door closed behind him and pressed his back against it, hand clasped on his chest, right over his speeding heart. If JJ said anything through the door, he couldn't hear it over the thunderous pounding of his blood in his ears, or his embarrassingly loud panting.

Yuuri waited a second, two, three, a whole minute, but the pace of his heart wasn't showing any sign of slowing. Each breath came harder than the last, like his lungs were squeezing tight in an attempt to choke him. Yuuri realized distantly what was happening and wanted to cry. It'd been so long since his last attack. He'd had such a good handle on himself. To lose it now over something so stupid felt worse than failure. It felt like a complete betrayal of himself and what he knew he could be.

But there was no helping it now.

 

\--

 

Viktor jumped at the sound of a slamming door. The evening had been calm and easygoing up until then, but Viktor immediately got the sense he had missed something important when he watched the last customer to have entered Yuuri's shop swim off, face flushed, hands balled into fists at his side. Odd. No one ever left Yuuri's shop looking so defeated and frustrated.

 _It's none of your business_ , Viktor told himself. It was probably just a bad transaction, or maybe an uncooperative customer unhappy with the answers they'd gotten. That was bound to happen at least once in a while. Yuuri likely handled it like he did anything else, with endless poise and confidence.

Except that didn't account for the abrupt wrongness that began to settle deep in Viktor's stomach. The longer he stared at the closed door, the more urgent it felt that he should go and check up on how Yuuri was doing.

Viktor bit his lip. _He's fine. He's always fine._

(But what if he wasn't?)

He could just... knock on the door. Then he could put an end to his concerns without barging inside. He'd see everything was perfectly fine and that he was simply imagining things.

So Viktor did just that, gently rapping his fist against the door. “Eros? Are you still in there?”

There came no answer.

“Eros?” Viktor tried knocking again, harder this time. He hadn't seen Yuuri exit the shop, so he had to still be in there, unless he'd teleported himself out? But he wouldn't do that, would he? Just up and leave without notice? What if Yuuri had decided that he'd finally had enough, that he'd rather just flee and never be found again?

Viktor's blood turned to ice at the mere thought.

His hand found the doorknob and shoved the door open, almost frantically. “Eros! Please tell me you're still—”

Viktor froze in motion.

Yuuri was still in the room, but he was curled up tightly on one of the clam-shell seats, panting hard and shakily like he couldn't catch his breath. His head was down, hands clasped on either side, but it shot up at the sound of Viktor's voice. His cheeks were flushed a dark blue. From exertion? Yuuri stared wide-eyed at him, something in his expression torn, until some decision was made and he gasped out, “V-Vik—”

Viktor was immediately at his side, his own heart hammering in his chest, hands clumsy and useless as he held them up despite having zero idea what to do with them, what to do at all. “What's wrong? Eros?”

Yuuri shook his head. “I—I can't...”

“Breathe?” Viktor guessed out loud. Oh gods, he had no idea what he was doing. He'd never seen anyone like this before. He'd heard of occurrences like this before, but never had he actually witnessed it firsthand. But he needed to do _something_ , he couldn't just leave Yuuri like this. “It's—it's okay, whatever happened, it's going to be okay. Just... breathe?”

Yuuri shook his head again. “Just... t-talk to me,” he gasped out.

“Talk? About anything?”

Yuuri nodded, his breathing no less shaky, but it was deepening, as though he were forcing himself to breathe more steadily. He closed his eyes and sucked in a hard breath, releasing it a moment later long and slowly.

“Anything...” Viktor racked his brain for anything that would do. “Um, I found some interesting looking sea slugs not long ago. And some starfish. If I can find them again, I'll show you them if you'd like. We get all sorts of different species in our garden. Do you use those kinds of things in your elixirs? I've never really thought about what you do or don't use. I don't know anything about how your magic works.” Viktor cringed. What was he even babbling about? It all felt so ineffectual. “Is this helping?”

Yuuri nodded again. He sucked in another breath, though it appeared to come more easily this time. His breathing was hard but it was evening. “Keep going,” he managed to get out.

What else, what else... “I suppose it's pretty negligent for me to not know how magic really works, my being a prince and all,” Viktor rambled, unsure if this was really something he wanted to admit to a renowned magic user, but he was at a complete loss for any other topic. His mouth just kept moving on its own. “Did you ever hear of our old Sea Witch, Makar? He scared me as a child. He was always so serious, I swear the man never smiled. He'd frequently catch me in the middle of pranks or avoiding lessons and would inform Yakov and Lilia. I didn't really like him much. I thought all Sea Witches were like that until he passed away and we hired Phichit, to be honest.” Viktor bit his lip. “You changed my mind, as well.”

Somewhere along the babbling, Yuuri's breathing had evened out to a more natural beat. Though his face was still flushed, the colour had lightened to a fainter hue rather than the dark blue it had been minutes ago.

“No one thought too highly of Makar,” Yuuri eventually said, his voice just a touch out of breath. “Not as a social creature, anyway. But he got the job done.”

“You knew him?”

“Only by reputation. My mentors did, though. I used to hear stories. Or rather, warnings to not be like him.” Yuuri released a long, slow breath. “Thank you, by the way.”

Was that it? Was it over? “I'm not entirely sure I did anything,” Viktor said. Had all that useless blathering really helped at all?

Yuuri smiled weakly. “You did. I needed something to focus on. My head gets a little...” Yuuri waved his hand through the water, as if the gesture explained it all.

Whatever the motion meant, it went right over Viktor's head. His brow furrowed. “What was that exactly?”

For a moment Yuuri said nothing. He slowly uncurled himself, his tentacles stretching out over the edge of the seat before resting. “Um. Just a panic attack,” he murmured. “I'm fine now. It happens.”

“You say that like it's a normal thing,” Viktor commented, his unease growing. “Does it happen a lot?”

“It's all right,” Yuuri said, weak smile returning, not at all convincing or reassuring. “You won't see it again. I'll have a better handle on myself next time.”

 _You're not answering the question_ , Viktor wanted to say. But he buried the complaint down and pressed on. “What exactly happened? I saw your last customer leaving in a hurry, like he was angry or upset.” Viktor narrowed his eyes. “He didn't do anything untowards to you, did he?”

“What? Oh, no. Nothing like that. He just.” Yuuri sighed. “It wasn't him, not really. It doesn't matter, he's definitely not coming back.”

“Well, I suppose that's a good thing then—”

The silver ornament by the doorway began to glow. That was all the warning either of them got before Phichit nearly slammed himself into the side of the doorway, hands gripping the door sill, a panicked look on his face.

“Are you okay?! I rushed here as soon as I could -- oh, hello.” Phichit eyed the two of them curiously, like he hadn't expected anyone else to be there other than Yuuri. He slowly relaxed his grip. “I, uh. Just rushed here to... tell you that it's getting late?”

Yuuri sighed. “ _Thank you_ , Phichit. I'll be fine.”

“Good, good. Okay then. So I'll see you around, then. Goodnight!”

And then as quickly as he'd appeared, Phichit was gone.

“He rushed here to tell you that?” Viktor wondered aloud. Phichit didn't have the appearance of someone just casually alerting someone of the time. He'd looked rushed, frightened even, like something horrible had occurred and he'd come to... Huh.

Viktor turned his eye back on Yuuri, brow raised. Was there some magical way for Phichit to know Yuuri was in trouble? Were Sea Witches capable of that? But Yuuri hadn't been performing any magic right then, so how was that possible?

Yuuri cleared his throat, oblivious to the hundreds of questions churning inside Viktor's brain. “He has a point. I've kept you long enough. You must want to retire by now.”

Viktor hummed. He could ask magic related questions another time. For now, there was a more pressing issue at hand. “In a moment. I'm not entirely convinced that you're all right. You can't expect me to retire knowing you're not okay, can you?”

Yuuri's cheeks darkened again, albeit for an entirely different reason this time. “But I am fine. Really, you don't have to worry about me. I just had a moment, that's all.”

“I'm not sure I'd call that a 'moment.'”

Yuuri tapped his fingers nervously on his lap, his bottom lip caught beneath his teeth. Viktor's eyes caught the movement, following them for a moment before he held out his hands and said, “Give me your hands.”

Yuuri looked up at him, confused. “What?”

Viktor chuckled. “It's all right, I'm not going to steal them.”

Yuuri gave Viktor's hands a considering look before he slowly lifted his hands and gently placed them onto Viktor's. Smiling, Viktor arranged their hands so that their palms lay flat together, fingers entwined.

Yuuri wet his lips. “Um, what are you doing?”

“It's something Lilia used to do when I was younger,” Viktor explained. “Whenever I was nervous about performing in front of a crowd, I would get restless and waste energy. So she would take my hands and tell me to squeeze the panic out.”

“Oh.”

 

“Can you do that?”

Yuuri blinked. “Do what?”

“Go ahead,” Viktor said, lightly squeezing his hands against Yuuri's in demonstration. “You were fidgeting just now. Are you still nervous? Just squeeze it all out, I can take it.”

“I don't know...” Yuuri began, but he silenced himself as he seemed to seriously consider the offer. Finally he took another deep breath and began to squeeze his hands around Viktor's. He barely felt the compression, Yuuri perhaps too shy to do much more than lightly press his hands to Viktor's.

“Is that all you've got? Surely you're stronger than that,” Viktor teased.

Soft laughter escaped Yuuri's lips. “I feel so silly,” he murmured. But seconds passed and slowly the compression grew stronger, until their combined hands were almost shaking with Yuuri's effort. Viktor's hands begun to hurt, but he was far too impressed with the strength behind Yuuri's squeezing to really notice. Not to mention the slight pinching of Yuuri's concentrating brow was beyond adorable.

“ _Wow_ , you're quite strong,” Viktor observed, a little breathless. He began to squeeze back, if only to feel how Yuuri responded in kind. To his delight, Yuuri only squeezed harder. “You sure proved me wrong.”

“That's just my hands,” Yuuri answered absentmindedly. His eyes widened, and just like that the moment was over and done with. Yuuri immediately retracted his hands from Viktor's and held them close together on his lap. “Um, please forget that I said that.”

“Said what?” Viktor laughed. Without a doubt he wouldn't be forgetting that anytime soon. “So... did that help at all? It's okay if it didn't. I just thought it couldn't hurt to try.”

Yuuri's tongue poked out and slid across his bottom lip; Viktor absentmindedly traced the movement with his eyes. “I think it did? I don't feel any worse.”

Viktor smiled. “That's definitely a start. You do look a little more relaxed than before.”

Yuuri nodded, eyes lowered to his lap. “I feel more relaxed. Or something. I feel something. Thank you for the idea. And for coming in here when you did.” Yuuri ran a hand over the back of his neck, eyes diverted to the side. “I'm sorry you had to see what you did.”

Viktor stiffened. Oh no – he'd broken one of his silent promises to himself. And so soon as well. He'd made himself promise not to enter the shop unless invited, and yet here he was, forcing himself inside.

“I'm sorry,” he blurted.

Yuuri's eyes met his again, wide and confused. “Whatever for?”

“I made this shop for you and only you,” Viktor explained, “and here I am, entering without permission. I just got this sense that you weren't okay, but that's no excuse to come in here uninvited. I must have made you so uncomfortable.”

Yuuri's mouth opened, closed, then opened again as he answered with, “No, not really? Who told you you couldn't enter?”

“No one, I suppose, but you like your privacy.”

“I do, but... I appreciate you coming inside all the same.”

“Oh.” When nothing else was said, Viktor said, “I'm not sure I'm following. It's okay I entered without permission?”

“You said you were worried about me,” Yuuri said, hands back to fidgeting in his lap. Was he nervous again? “I don't think I can really complain about that. You were being a kind merperson. I imagine you'd do that for anyone you thought was in trouble.”

“I would,” Viktor agreed, “but I would do it especially for you.” Yuuri's head shot up at that, his brow pinched once more. Viktor cleared his throat. “You're under my care. What kind of prince would I be if you were get hurt while I was nearby?”

“I wouldn't consider a panic attack getting hurt,” Yuuri murmured.

“You were in distress. I would classify it as being similar. Wounds don't always need to be physical.” Viktor's eyes fell to Yuuri's hands again – he wanted to take them up in his own once more, for more selfish reasons than anything else, but he resisted the temptation.

When he lifted his eyes back to Yuuri's face, he found Yuuri staring deeply up into him, expression unreadable though intensely focused all the same. Like he was unable to understand what he was seeing, yet couldn't look away at the same time.

(Which seemed fair. If Viktor had to look at himself, he wasn't entirely sure what he'd see, either.)

Before long Yuuri lowered his head again. His shoulders slouched forward, as though his upper body had become too heavy to properly hold up. “I suppose you're right. I think I'm... I'm really worn out.”

“I'll bet. You had a long night. I'll escort you to your room?”

The corner of Yuuri's mouth lifted as he raised his head. “I don't think so. I'm the one who escorts you, remember?”

Viktor tilted his head and winked. “We'll make an exception tonight.”

Yuuri sighed, lifting himself off of the clam-shell chair. “Fine. But only because I'm ready to keel over.”

He must be, if he wasn't trying to fight Viktor over semantics. Viktor waited patiently as Yuuri quickly put away his things, organizing the room just enough so that it was ready for the following day. Yuuri closed the door behind them, and then together they began swimming back to the castle through the garden.

“Tomorrow will be a better day, you'll see,” Viktor assured him. “You'll have lovely, respectful customers, lots of good pay, and there will be no reason at all to panic.”

Tired as Yuuri looked, he still chuckled softly at Viktor's comments. The sound alone had Viktor's insides twisting pleasantly. “You're quite the dreamer, aren't you.”

Viktor simply smiled and said, “What's life without big dreams?”

 

\--

 

The next day arrived. Everything went about as expected for the day: meetings were on time, Yuuri and Viktor shared their meals in what could be described as a relatively comfortable silence. When they did talk, questions and answers didn't feel anywhere near as stiff and forced as they had in the past. It was... nice, if Yuuri was being honest. He'd never thought they'd get to a point where they could enjoy each others company like this, not after the first week he'd had at the castle, but the change was a pleasant surprise.

The odd servant approached them every now and then as they traversed the castle, inevitably inquiring about his services. Viktor smiled at him while Yuuri patiently explained his work to each and every one of the servants who came up to him. After the third one, Yuuri asked, “What are you smiling about?”

“After what happened last night, I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd wanted to take a break from your work and discourage others from seeking you out,” Viktor explained. “But here you are, carrying on like nothing even happen. I think it's extremely admirable.”

Yuuri sputtered and urged the prince to move along, lest they be late for his next meeting.

Evening finally arrived; Viktor's work was over for the day but Yuuri's was only just beginning. Yuuri would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little residual jitteriness from last night, but he had a job to do, and he wanted to do it, ill-mannered customers or not.

They swam out to the shop, Viktor talking excitedly about the days events while Yuuri listened. Yuuri looked up ahead to the shop, expecting to see the first couple of customers of the night waiting for him – and stopped swimming instantly.

Viktor only got a couple of words and feet away from him before he'd realized Yuuri had stopped moving. He swam back to Yuuri's side. “Eros? What's wrong?”

“He's back,” Yuuri whispered. “I didn't think he would, but _he's back_.”

Viktor frowned. “Who?”

Yuuri pointed behind Viktor. He turned, following Yuuri's gesture, frown deepening when his eyes landed on the problem at hand.

JJ.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'VE BEEN SITTING ON YUURI'S BACKSTORY FOR SOOOO LONG, Y'ALL HAVE NO IDEA. LIKE, ALMOST A YEAR. Do you hate me yet?
> 
> I changed up some art stuff, hopefully it looks better than before.
> 
> I just wanna clarify that I actually really like JJ, I'm not in the “JJ is evil/a villain!” camp, so this won't be that kind of story if you're concerned. But JJ is canonically pretty obnoxious soooooo that is sadly still A Thing. He'll be redeemed next chapter, I promise! I am attempting some nuance here. (Up to you if I succeed or not, but I swear I am trying.)
> 
> JJ is a whale shark in this AU because A) I love whale sharks, and B) I wanted him more or less in the same “group” as Yurio and Otabek (I kind of think of them being in a loose sort-of-group in canon, since they're all pretty close in age, interact with each other, and probably have more in common than with the other, older skaters), while at the same time implying that there's less of a typical shark nature to him.
> 
> Isabella is also a whale shark~ she probably won't be in the story until like the very end though unfortunately. 
> 
> This chapter was originally gonna be WAY longer, but then I decided a few scenes made way more sense in the next chapter, so I made myself stop at a reasonable length lmao.


	6. I feel like the worst (so I always act like I'm the best)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally far longer, but then I realized it was reaching 30+ pages, and I thought that might be a little bit silly, so I split this chapter up into two. This part is going up now, the rest will go up in maybe a week to two weeks from now. (Wow, another chapter without a 2-3 month wait! Pats on the back for meeeee.)
> 
> The chapter for this chapter comes from "Oh, No!" by Marina and the Diamonds. (The next chapter has a MatD song title too, hehehe.)
> 
> A big shout out goes to Elenca (aka KKElenca on tumblr/twitter) for the great anatomy critique they gave! It was a huge help and I'm super appreciative. <3 Ilu!
> 
> This (and like every chapter lmao) is un-Beta'd so apologies for any narrative issues or typos! I'm trying to find/correct them as I go. (I'm gonna do a read-through of the first 5 pages soon and fix/alter some stuff so it all flows a little better. Nothing major will change! So don't worry about rereading anything. If I think a change is big enough that people need to know, I'll state as such in the A/N of the update that happens after said change/s are made.) This whole thing is a work in progress, so thank you for being patient with me and my imperfections.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am totally aware that despite my constantly calling the coral reef a “garden,” these living creatures aren't actually plants. I just find it less awkward to call it that since that's kind of the mer royalty equivalent in this verse. (Same with me constantly referring to Yuuri's extra arms as tentacles. They're not /actually/ called that, they're just arms, but the mental image I get when I write “arms” just kills me so we aren't doing that. There's less confusion for readers this way too, I think. I'm sorry marine science people. I promise I do some research, I just sometimes say ”fuck the rules” and do what I want.)
> 
> Part of doing what I want means that I am also making some fish up because this is a fantasy AU, why the fuck not. There'll be more made up fish in the future. (Will I name them tho? Pbbbbt names, who needs those)
> 
> See you in a week or two with the rest~
> 
> If anyone is wondering “but wait, people hunt for sport, it's not always for food,” THAT IS TRUE, but I fucking hate that with a passion so my merfolk aren't into that nonsense. My merfolk just wanna be and look at pretty things all day, killing shit for fun kinda kills the mood they go goin'on.

Somehow, despite everything, JJ was waiting for Yuuri outside of his shop.

“Why is he here?” Yuuri whispered. It was hard to believe, after what had occurred the day before, that the merman would ever bother returning. Yuuri had already declined him, what else could he possibly want? Unless he really was that poor of a listener. It struck Yuuri as borderline absurd, almost unthinkable, but maybe not so much when he was staring at the merman from a little more than halfway across the garden.

Something in Viktor's expression hardened at the sight of JJ. He looked less the charming, flirty merman Yuuri had come to know and more like... well, a prince. One who was about to assert his authority as a future ruler, without qualms.

“Stay here,” he said, “I'll take care of this.”

Viktor then immediately took off towards the offending party, his long, powerful tail snapping through the water, propelling him forward.

“What? No!” Yuuri held an arm up over his eyes, momentarily stunned by the explosion of bubbles from Viktor's sweeping tail. When he lowered his arm, Viktor was already halfway to the shop. “Viktor, come back here!” Yuuri called out, speeding after him.

Viktor showed no sign of slowing down, or that he had even heard Yuuri calling after him. Yuuri had to push himself extra hard to catch up, but once he had he quickly swam in front of Viktor, blocking him from going any further.

Viktor looked at Yuuri like he couldn't fathom why he was being stopped. “It's okay, Eros, I've got this.”

“But it's my problem.”

“He's on my grounds, harassing someone under my care.”

“Right. But he's here for _me_ , at _my_ shop. The shop _you_ gave me,” Yuuri argued back.

Viktor's mouth fell open. “Are you honestly using my gift against me?”

Yuuri stared Viktor dead in the eyes, daring him to argue further. A minute passed in silence, neither moving or saying anything. Then the prince's tense shoulders eventually dropped in surrender and he let out a small sigh.

“You play an unfair game,” Viktor mumbled under his breath. “Fine. But I'm not leaving until he does.”

Yuuri released the breath he'd been holding. “That's fine. Just give me a minute with him and he'll be gone as soon as he came.”

“A minute,” Viktor echoed, arms crossing over his chest.

Yuuri offered him a small smile. “Thank you.”

Poor JJ. He'd clearly witnessed the entire argument: his eyes were large and round, he looked one wrong move from speeding off into the wide and open blue. Yuuri schooled his expression, shoving his nerves deep down as he approached the spooked merman.

Yuuri opened with a flat, “You're back.”

JJ's eyes darted back and forth between Yuuri and Viktor before they finally settled on the Sea Witch before him. “I am.”

“Why? I haven't changed my mind.”

“I know,” JJ said. His composure was incredibly stiff, like he was forcing himself to stay still rather than squirm under Yuuri's ceaseless stare. Yuuri would have said JJ looked no different than he had the previous day except that, upon closer inspection, he realized there were bags beneath JJ's eyes. The realization had Yuuri pausing, waiting for the merman to continue.

JJ took a deep breath. “I don't expect you to change your mind, especially not after how I acted yesterday. I did a lot of thinking last night. And I don't necessarily _agree_ with you, but I think, maybe, you had some points, and that I was wrong regardless. I treated you poorly, and for that I'm sorry.”

Oh. The apology had Yuuri relaxing, if just a touch. JJ hadn't come back for another argument. Well, if this wasn't a pleasant surprised. Yuuri allowed some warmth to enter his voice, enough to let JJ know he wasn't holding a grudge against him. “That's good to hear. I'm glad you understand where I was coming from, even if you still disagree. It's my job to make sure no harm comes to my customers, even if it means denying them what they want most. Especially so, sometimes.”

JJ nodded his head, a pensive look on his face. “I think I get your position on the matter. You'd know way better than I would. I should trust you on that.” Then, without much warning, JJ's voice became louder, almost unintentionally more forceful as he continued with, “But! There are some other things I need to say to you. I need to explain myself.”

“Uh...”

JJ then launched into what could only be described as a long-winded explanation for the day before. He'd travelled from far, far away, searched for him for so long. He'd been stressed about his relationship with his loved one, wondering if he could ever be good enough for her. Eros was supposed to be the answer to all of his problems, so JJ had been surprised and disappointed when, inevitably, he hadn't been.

Yuuri floated there, blinking and attempting to process the giant info dump. There was so much at once that he only caught half of it, but he got the jist of what JJ was saying, for the most part. The merman felt bad and felt the need to (over) explain himself and his actions. It wasn't the first time a poor customer had tried to make amends to Yuuri like this, as if more words spoken could soothe away the embarrassment. There was a little too much filler for Yuuri's liking, a lot of repeating information he'd already been told before, but JJ did sound fairly sincere as he spoke. Like he really had been up all night, bothered by what had transpired between them. Yuuri couldn't judge the merman too hard on that. He'd spent enough of his own nights doing the very same over both lesser and greater mistakes.

(It would be nice if JJ got to the point and stuck to it, though.)

While JJ rambled on with no end in sight, Yuuri eventually noticed that JJ's hands were clasped firmly behind his back and had been the entire time.

“What are you hiding?” Yuuri interrupted, only just disguising the suspicion in his voice for curiosity. Was the apology a cover for something else entirely? Gods, please tell him there wasn't a whole other reason for the repeat visit.

JJ stiffened. He opened his mouth to speak, but for once no words came out.

Yuuri sighed and raised a finger, giving it a quick spin through the water. JJ let out a startled noise as he himself was spun around, his back, and by necessity his hands, now facing Yuuri proper. And what he had in his hands was a rather hefty looking coin purse, near to bursting with what Yuuri could only assume were coins.

“Is that all?” Yuuri said with a soft chuckle. Way to get worked up over nothing. But what else was new? Maybe he was due for a day off, if he was getting this anxious over very little. “You must be on your way to the market, then. You really should've gone there first, I'm not sure how much longer they'll be...”

“It's for you,” JJ cut in.

“But... I haven't done anything for you. There's no need to pay me.”

JJ nodded. “I know that. This is part of my apology.”

Yuuri shook his head. “I can't accept payment for nothing. It's against the rules.”

“Rules? You can't make an exception this one time? No, I guess not,” JJ said, laughing softly to himself. “That's how I got into this mess in the first place. Look, it's a peace offering. I have plenty, so it's really no skin off my back. I still took up your time yesterday, didn't I? We'll say it's in payment for that.”

Yuuri shook his head again. “No, it's still too much...”

“Then I'll give you the appropriate amount, and we'll call it even.”

Yuuri narrowed his eyes, suspicion still lingering at the back of his mind. “You must've known the amount you brought was excessive. Have you really given up all interest in impressing your fiancée?”

JJ worked his bottom lip under his teeth, hands toying with the coin purse absentmindedly. “Well. I'd be lying if I said I came here without thinking that maybe we could... But it's all right. I can figure this out on my own. Where there's a will, there's a way. Or at least that's what Isabella's always saying.”

Yuuri made a small, noncommittal noise. “Perhaps, but...” Gods, was he really considering helping the merman, even after everything? It was enough to make Yuuri want to slap himself. He had enough trouble in his life without inviting more in. But what was his life's work, if not to aid others? He could already hear Minako's voice in his head, chastising him for turning away someone who clearly needed the help. Perhaps not the magical sort, but there was a need all the same. JJ had sought him out, after all.

JJ offered the coin purse to him in both hands; Yuuri hesitantly accepted it. He drew it open, mouth dropping at the amount that was stuffed inside. It was far more than he'd initially suspected. Just how well off was JJ to have accumulated this much, and to think it nothing? Merpeople generally had no need of the golden coins that were pillaged from sunken ships, though they were often drawn to them and other treasures nonetheless. What was coin to most mermaids when little was needed to live a comfortable life under water, other than something fun and pretty to collect and barter with others for other goods? To possess this much meant that JJ must come from a pretty wealthy family. And just a cursory glance at the inside told Yuuri that it could put a _major_ dent in the amount he owed Viktor.

But he couldn't accept all of this for nothing. It was bad practice for a Sea Witch to accept payment for zero in return, and the flimsy excuse of “taking up time” really didn't amount to much in the end. Minako would have his head if she caught him doing this, as well.

Yuuri pursed his lips. “JJ, you and I both know it there's more to this than just impressing your fiancée. That may be your sole concern, but you sought me for other reasons. You don't feel confident in yourself.”

JJ said nothing, eyes trained on the coin purse.

“Maybe,” he uttered. “But it's no matter now. I'll figure something out.”

Yuuri felt the water shift next to him. He didn't have to look to know Viktor was at his side now. He could sense how unimpressed the prince felt, his silent displeasure coming off him in strong waves. Whatever his expression, it had JJ stiffening again, though he stared back at the prince with unwavering eyes.

“It's been more than a minute,” Viktor said, quiet enough for Yuuri's ears only.

“I got this,” Yuuri whispered back.

“I didn't come here to start any trouble,” JJ began, but Viktor lifted his hand to silence him.

“I think it would be best that you take your leave now.”

“In a moment,” Yuuri said. He cast a quick look Viktor to make sure he wouldn't do anything but float there quietly. When it appeared so, he turned back to JJ. “I accept your payment, but only on the grounds that I help you.”

“What?” JJ and Viktor said in unison.

“You said you've spent a long time trying to find me, even though you weren't certain I even existed,” Yuuri explained, watching as JJ's eyes lit up with hope renewed. “My magic is of no direct use to you, but there are other ways I can aid you. Do you still seek help?”

“Anything,” JJ said, “I'll take anything you're willing to give.”

Yuuri smiled. That was exactly the attitude he liked to see in his customers: passion, energy, enthusiasm. JJ may not have had a great introduction, but perhaps the merman wasn't all that bad. (Someone _had_ agreed to marry him, after all.) “Excellent. Then we begin now.”

“Eros?” Viktor questioned softly. Yuuri ignored him for the moment.

A broad smile broke out over JJ's features. “Great! You won't regret doing this, I promise you that. So, what are we doing?”

Yuuri tilted his head, gazing up at JJ through his thick lashes, amping the charm up a few notches. He'd need it if he was going to command the merman to go and do a little prep work. “'We're' not doing anything just yet. I need you to bring me a few things first.”

The request took JJ off guard, but the merman smiled all the same, as if it were no trouble at all. “All right. What do we need?”

“Let me think.” Yuuri tapped a finger on his chin as he pretended to sort his thoughts. “Hmm, what _do_ we need. Well...”

Yuuri waited just long enough to build up the anticipation. Then he dove straight into a long list of various fish that could be found in the area but were relatively difficult to catch. Whether it be because of their great stamina or speed, a magical touch to them, or worse, a terrible combination of the three. Yuuri watched as JJ's enthusiasm slowly drained from his face as the list grew more and more extensive. It wasn't _that_ long of a list, but listing when and where they could be found was no doubt making it appear a daunting task.

“Oh, and I need you to bring them all to me alive,” Yuuri tacked on at the end of his order. “They're worthless to me dead.”

“Okay... All of that? No problem.” Determination returned to JJ's eyes, making his expression sharp, giving off the impression of an unstoppable personality. It suited his young but well-defined features. “Just watch me bring them all back here in no time at all. You won't be disappointed. Is there a deadline?”

“No, just however long it takes you to finish the task. But before you leave, I have something that will help you. Just one moment.”

JJ and Viktor waited for Yuuri outside the shop while Yuuri entered and went through his things, eyes roaming his now well-stocked shelves. He knew he'd brewed some of this particular elixir just the other day, it was just a matter of remembering where he'd put it. He found it a moment later, reaching out with a tentacle and grabbing several vials of the elixir in question. The vials were short but relatively wide, the opening large enough for fingers to reach in and scrape at its insides, which were filled with dark red sand.

Smiling, Yuuri brought out to his waiting guest. JJ accepted them from Yuuri's offering tentacle (though Yuuri couldn't help but bite back a snort at JJ doing his best to avoid touching the tentacle in question, as if they could bite him. Merfolk always had either one or two reactions to his tentacles: caution or awe.)

“These are for you. Consider it already paid for by the amount you've given me,” Yuuri explained while JJ looked the vials over. “It's a special elixir of mine that has been blended into sand, so that you may touch it and apply to the fish you catch. After you've caught any of the fish I require, rub it gently over their scales. It will evaporate into their bodies and render them peaceful. It won't harm them, it will just make bringing them back here much easier. It only lasts for a few hours at a time, however, so use it wisely. A little goes a long way with these.”

JJ held up the vials, giving them a small shake and watching the sand stir lazily inside. “It's that easy? Heh, suddenly your requirements aren't so bad.”

Yuuri flashed JJ a coy smile. “See? I'm not that unreasonable. Now, do you have access to a net?”

“Of course.”

“Perfect. Then you know what you need to do. Pick your strongest and largest one and get at it.” Yuuri clapped his hands, loud and quick, startling both JJ and Viktor at its suddenness. “Time starts now. Shoo, shoo!”

No more needed to be said. JJ took off with a flourish, calling back that he would return soon. It'd been quite a while since Yuuri had seen someone swim that fast away from him, but at least on that day he could say it was with good reason. He watched JJ become a small, dark shape far, far away in the water, satisfied that JJ genuinely wanted to accomplish the task he'd been assigned.

Viktor spoke up, confusion tinting his voice. “You have peace-making sand?”

“It's normally for medical emergencies, with patients who are too panicked to calm down and let others help them,” Yuuri clarified, “but yes, I do. Never had it used on you?”

Viktor shook his head. “I never needed it, no.”

“I can't imagine you would. Maybe your guards need it if something goes especially wrong, but I highly doubt it. Everyone seems to live a peaceful life here. ”

“The most dangerous thing here is probably Prince Yuri, and he's only a guppy,” Viktor replied. “Speaking of, what's all the fish for? I thought you said your magic wasn't of any use to him. Is there a spell you need them for?”

Yuuri laughed softly. Did he dare admit it out loud? Oh, it was far too tempting. “I'm just proving a point. It's not actually _for_ anything.”

Viktor's mouth fell open. His hand covered his mouth just before a chuckle escaped him. “You're just messing with him?”

“Not _messing_ with him,” Yuuri said, unable to help him own laughter, “I'm just... making him understand something. I could tell him all day he doesn't need to physically change himself and it wouldn't do any good. He needs to see that for himself. It will be way more effective this way. Assuming that he completes his task and comes back. He might not.”

“And if he doesn't?”

“Then the rest of his coin goes to waste, I'm afraid. Oh, speaking of.” Yuuri handed the coin purse off to Viktor, not missing the flash of protest in Viktor's face as he did so. “Here's most of what I owe you.”

Viktor sighed. “You _really_ don't have to pay me back.”

“I know,” Yuuri replied. No matter how many times Viktor insisted otherwise, it wouldn't change his mind once it was made up. A Sea Witch always repaid their debts, it was bad karma not to. Now if only Viktor came to accept that as well, they could finally stop dancing around that conversation and move on. “If you'll excuse me, I have work I have to do.”

“Work?” Viktor looked around the area, finding no one else but them there. “But there aren't any other customers here.”

“Not yet, no,” Yuuri agreed. “But JJ paid me quite a sum. His task is only the first half of the help he paid for. I have to go and prepare the second half for when he comes back.”

“Oh, I see.” Viktor toyed with the coin purse. “I guess I'll just... be out here then.”

 _Guess so_ , Yuuri thought.

 _Invite him inside_ , another voice inside Yuuri whispered.

It wasn't like he had anything to hide, not with regarding JJ anyway. Considering all that he knew about Viktor, the prince could even offer some insightful observations on the exact project he was about to undertake. The prince _was_ a very skilled dancer; he'd experienced that himself the night of the last banquet. And the prince must be bored, swimming alone in the garden each evening. Yuuri heard the occasional conversation Viktor had when passerby's greeted the prince and asked him about his day, but for the most part, outside of work, the prince spent an alarming amount of his free time alone.

Except... none of that really mattered. He could rationalize the reasons for and against it all day. It didn't matter whether or not it was a good idea to invite Viktor in to join him because some part deep inside wanted him inside no matter the reason. He wanted Viktor's conversation, his laughter, his enjoyment, his eyes on him while he worked. Yuuri simply wanted his company.

And yet in spite of this, Yuuri answered with a quiet, “I guess so. I'll see you later, then.”

Viktor offered him a smile, answered with an equally quiet, “Good luck with your work,” and they parted ways for the evening.

It was just as well, Yuuri reasoned with himself once he was safe inside his shop, alone with just his things and his thoughts. He worked best without distractions. Outsider opinions could be helpful, but...

Yuuri heaved a deep sigh and began stretching his limbs. He'd consider it later. For now, he might as well get ready for a long night of choreographing.

 

-

 

Several days passed and there was no sign of JJ returning.

That wasn't all that out of the ordinary, Yuuri thought. He had requested quite a lot of different types of fish, some a lot more agile and feisty than others. The poor merman needed to rest and sleep, as well. So assuming that he hadn't decided Yuuri's aid was a waste of time after all, he would be returning at some point.

“I'm not entirely sure I want him to come back,” Viktor admitted to him after they had dined for the afternoon and were readying themselves for Viktor's next meeting.

“I never pictured you the type to hold a grudge,” Yuuri replied, a hint of teasing to his tone. An imperfect side to the prince? Who could have imagined.

Viktor gave a small shrug, not looking all that bothered by the statement. “I don't, not normally. He just really rubbed me the wrong way, especially with how he treated you the other night. I'm still not sure I understand why you agreed to help him after the grief he caused you. You could've just turned him away.”

“What, and turn away all that coin as well? Anyway, he apologized. And it's my job.” Yuuri arched a brow at the pouting prince. “Should a prince really be so discriminating against one of his subjects?”

Viktor made a face, though it was clear he was trying to hold back a smile. “Is he even from here? You did mention he travelled from far away. But please, stop making sense. It's perfectly fine when you do it with JJ, but not with me. I'm royalty, you know.”

Yuuri gasped, a hand landing on his chest. “What? You're royalty? Oh, no. I never realized. I'm not presentable enough for this!”

Somewhere in-between the laughter and the “Stop that,” and “Only if you stop,” a figure emerged from the hallway and lingered in the doorway, arms crossed, body pressed against one side of the doorway as they took the scene in. Yuuri caught them out of the corner of his eye, laughter immediately dying on his lips when realized who was there. He quickly turned and bowed to the silent, scrutinizing prince.

Viktor's face lit up when he realized whose presence had graced them. “Oh, Yuri! You're out early. Tutoring go especially well today?”

“Tutoring went _nowhere_. It got 'cancelled,'” Prince Yuri responded with a furrowing of his brow. “Georgi wasn't even there. The lazy jerk sent _someone else_ to tell me it was called off for the day. Something about 'dying of a broken heart' or whatever.”

Viktor made a considering noise. “Well, that sadly isn't out of the norm. I'm sure he'll be back to his regular self within a day's time.”

Prince Yuri scoffed.

“...A week, maybe,” Viktor amended.

Yuri rolled his eyes, obviously finding the correction still inaccurate. He rolled his head to the side, resting it against the door frame. Despite being smaller than both of them, it seemed as though he were still looking down his nose at both Viktor and Yuuri.

“What exactly are you up to?”

“We were just heading out,” Viktor replied politely, clearly not at all bothered by his cousin's attitude. “There's still plenty to do before we can call it a day. Busy, busy, you know.”

“'We,' huh,” Yuri murmured, eyes narrowing. Then, a little louder, “Too busy to spar later?”

Viktor's face fell. “You know I'd love to, but...”

Yuri rolled his eyes a second time. “Whatever. I get it.” He pulled away from the door frame, turning so that he was no longer facing either of them. “You're so busy, and yet you have plenty of time to waste in the garden at night, watching _him_ perform magic tricks all night long. It doesn't take an idiot to get the hint.”

“Yuri –”

“ _Later_ , old man.”

Then Yuri was gone, already halfway down the long, stretching hallway when both Viktor and Yuuri swam to the doorway to see where he was heading off to. Viktor opened his mouth, as if to call out to him, but the next moment passed in tense silence. Viktor lowered his head.

 _I should tell him_ , Yuuri thought, remembering each time he'd caught even the slightest hint that the younger prince had been near the shop in the garden, which was far more often than Yuuri was comfortable admitting. His shop bothered the young prince, that much was obvious, but he hadn't given too much thought as to why. He'd assumed it was his presence alone that troubled Yuri, but after that little scene...

And yet Yuuri took one look at Viktor's crestfallen face and decided against it. It wouldn't do anyone any good; it wouldn't accomplish anything. So unless Prince Yuri did something to sabotage the shop or interfere with his work, it was best he remained quiet.

“I don't,” Viktor began. He paused, released a soft sigh. “It was never my intention to...”

“You don't have to explain yourself,” Yuuri said. “Your time is your own. You don't have to justify yourself.”

“He was always busy in the evenings. I never thought...”

“Viktor?”

Sighing again, Viktor lifted his head. “We've wasted enough time. We should be off now, before I'm late enough to be given a room full of glares.”

“All right,” Yuuri conceded, finding it hard to believe that anyone other than Prince Yuri could intentionally glare at someone like Viktor. If Viktor was this quick to put the matter behind him, then it really wasn't his right to press the issue. Tension between cousins had nothing to do with him.

And if Viktor was unusually quiet that night, responding only when spoken to, silently fetching Yuuri when it was time retire for the night, Yuuri made sure not to comment on it.

 

-

 

Another day passed with still no sign of JJ in sight.

Perhaps his challenge had been a touch... ambitious. At this point, Yuuri would be relieved if the merman came back with even just half of his request fulfilled. JJ didn't strike him as the type to back down from a challenge or give up partway, however, so there wasn't much Yuuri could do but wait and wonder if JJ was still attempting it or if he had given up entirely.

(He could, perhaps, attempt to use one of the coins he'd been given to track JJ down, but that was a complete breach of privacy, especially if JJ had given up.)

After his latest customer left his shop, happily carrying off a few newly enchanted charms, Yuuri went back to sorting through his things, taking a mental count of his inventory. He was going through his beauty and energy elixirs fairly fast (and unsurprisingly so; the castles merpeople sure loved to look and feel their best). But he still had enough to get through another day or two, he could wait to brew more. He'd need to stock up on materials in order to do so, anyway.

For now... Yuuri stretched his limbs, feeling restlessness buzzing beneath his skin. It was getting late, which meant that he might not have another customer for the rest of the night. He could spend the rest of his remaining time working more on the second half of his project with JJ. He'd smoothed most of the bumps out of the choreography the last couple of nights, simplified the motions without sacrificing the intended beauty and grace. Now it was just a matter of mastering it before JJ hopefully returned, so that he could properly teach it to the other merman without issue.

Moving his cauldron off to the side, Yuuri took to the center of the room and got into the starting pose. Just as he was about to move, silver light flickered across the room, jolting Yuuri out of focus. A customer, at this hour? Well, the choreography would have to wait another day, then.

Except when Yuuri went to the door, opening it with a soft, hopefully welcoming smile on his face, he found no one there. Yuuri poked his head out, looked all around, but found no one. He couldn't even see Viktor anywhere in sight, just some fish swimming around. The ornament in the doorway shouldn't respond to fish swimming nearby – gods, the number of times it would go off if it did – but maybe it mistook a couple of larger ones nearby as a merperson?

“Huh.” Yuuri closed the door, scratching the back of his head. Well, okay then.

He returned to the center of the room once more. He rolled his shoulders, sensing the tension from a long day settling deep in his back muscles. Hmm, he really should stretch a bit more before he...

A shadow passed across the floor, catching Yuuri's attention. It was far too large to belong to a passing fish. Yuuri's head snapped up, and he locked eyes with... Viktor?

Was the prince _seriously_ spying on him?

“Viktor?!”

Viktor jolted. There was a split second where Yuuri could see the prince mentally debating on whether he should stay or flee.

Yuuri didn't give him the chance to decide. He swam up to the opening, poking his own head out to meet the prince at his level.

Yuuri wasn't sure what he expected the prince to do after getting caught, but it sure wasn't for Viktor to settle into what could only be described as a unconvincingly “relaxed” pose. His head rested on his hand, his long, silver hair billowing above him. He lay across the shop as though he had been there the entire time and had every right to be there, but there was a subtle tension in Viktor's body that betrayed his intent.

Viktor chanced a smile, the sort that probably got him out of a lot of trouble as a youth. “Hi?”

'Hi,' indeed. “Viktor, what are you doing?”

Viktor's smile didn't budge. “Don't worry, I saw nothing,” he said.

Yuuri stared at him, flabbergasted. _Is that supposed to make me feel better?_ _I'm not worried about what you saw, I'm just confused about why you were bothering at all?_ Spying was more of a children's activity, wasn't it?

When Yuuri said nothing at all, Viktor finally let the false cheer slip, replaced with a touch of bashfulness as he admitted, “I'm sorry, I just... got a little bored is all. And curious. Mostly curious. I wanted to know what you've been working on this past week.”

“Uh huh,” Yuuri deadpanned.

The bashfulness quickly gave away to a more sobering expression. “You're right. You have every right to be mad.”

Yuuri arched his brow. That was an interesting angle to go at, but he wasn't entirely buying it. Not when Viktor was so quick to play the whole thing off as an “oops, silly me” moment.

If the prince was going to mess around, then fine. Two could easily play that game.

Without giving Viktor an opening to try and talk himself any further out of it, Yuuri moved forward towards the edge of the window, encroaching on Viktor's space. Eyes wide and puzzled, Viktor immediately responded in kind, shifting backwards to make room for the approaching Sea Witch. Yuuri rested his upper half along the edge of his new-found, conquered territory, arms crossed comfortably under his chest as he levelled a sobering stare straight at the prince.

“You have nothing to worry about, Your Highness,” he said, tone carefully neutral. “I'm not mad with you.”

Viktor blinked several times, taken aback. “You're not?”

“Nope.” Yuuri tilted his head to the side, flashed a devious grin as he added, “You saw nothing, after all. So my secret's are still safe.”

Viktor gaped at him. “ _Erooossss_ ,” he practically whined, drawing his name out in a way that almost had Yuuri's skin tingling. “You're so cruel. Maybe I'm not sorry I tried to sneak a peek after all.”

Yuuri tilted his head to the other side. “Oh, you're not, are you?”

Viktor nodded solemnly. “I've officially decided that I am not.”

Yuuri hummed. “Pity. If you'd whined a little harder, I might've felt bad enough to invite you inside and show you what I've been doing.”

Viktor's mouth fell open again. When he realized Yuuri was just teasing him yet again, he whined his name in the same, drawn out manner again. Honestly, the whole thing had Yuuri chuckling.

“I never imagined you'd have this side to you,” Viktor pouted.

Yuuri shrugged, not at all fazed. Annoyed as he was by the prince's behaviour, he had to admit it was a little too much fun to mess with the merman. “Blame your lack of imagination, then,” he retorted.

Before the prince could come up with a retort, a familiar voice from far off interrupted them.

“Hey! I'm back!”

Yuuri glanced upwards, eyes searching the wide blue for the source. A weight instantly lifted off his chest when he realized who was swimming towards them – and my, what a large net he had with him.

A wide smile broke out across Yuuri's features. “JJ, you're back!”

(Yuuri _just_ heard the soft utterance of “ _oh, wonderful_ ” under Viktor's breath. Yuuri quietly shushed him.)

Soon the merman was at their sides, heaving along with him a large net filled with a wide assortment of fish, all of them peacefully swimming about as though they weren't being contained within a limited space.

JJ bragged, “Of course I'm back. Was there ever any doubt? And look what I brought back.” He pulled the net forward so that it floated between them, giving Yuuri a good look at the inside. He gestured widely with his arms at the size of it, at all of the work he had put in to filling it. “In this net is _every_ fish on your list, every last one of them. You can check for yourself if you don't believe me.”

JJ glanced down at Viktor, who hadn't bothered to lift himself off of the rooftop, his once easy pose taking on an exasperated edge to it now that JJ was around. If the sight of a prince lounging around baffled JJ at all, the merman didn't show it. He might've been too proud of himself in the moment to really notice or care. “Good evening, Your Highness,” he greeted.

Viktor sighed. “Good evening.”

Yuuri swam around the net, eyeing its insides closely. “Hmm, lets take a look, shall we?”

He mentally counted the number inside, matching it with the number of fish he'd ordered JJ to hunt down. When it added up, he then began studying each fish individually, making sure there were no duplicates in there to try and trick him. He studied long and hard, fully aware of JJ's bravado slowly slipping further and further away with each passing second. A proud merman like JJ made a good show of seeming unbothered, incapable of self-doubt, but Yuuri knew better than to buy what JJ was trying to sell. He'd dealt with enough customers to know better.

He asked, “How was it, by the way?”

“You mean catching them all?” JJ rested his hands on his hips and subtly stuck his chest out, as if to emphasize his size and muscles. “I'll admit it wasn't _quite_ as easy as I initially thought, but I had it in the bag, as you can very well see.”

Yuuri hummed again. He spotted a particular fish in the bag, the sweet little thing the colour of kelp, it's long and flowing fins even mimicking the shape of it. If you didn't pay too close attention, one could even mistaken it for a stray piece of kelp floating aimlessly in the water. Perfect for camouflaging in a kelp forest, the habitat where it normally resided. “And how was catching this sneaky little one here? Fun?”

JJ's body slumped as he let out a drawn out groan, the memory of that particular fish yanking him out of his proud display for the moment. “'Fun' is putting it too nicely. I swear, that one took me _hours_. You didn't warn me how fast they could be! Or that they can change colours to blend in!”

Yuuri held back a chuckle. “Where would the challenge be if I gave you all the answers up front? You caught it, either way. How'd that make you feel?”

JJ stilled, as if he hadn't considered the question before. “Good,” he admitted. “ _Really_ good. So good, I think I actually took the best nap of my life afterwards.”

Yuuri nodded his head at the rest of the net. “And what about the rest of them?”

“Like I'd conquered the entire ocean.”

Yuuri turned his attention back on the merman, smiling as he asked, “So, do you still think you need to physically alter yourself to become a better hunter, after all you've done on your own?”

JJ's brow knit together, the pieces slowly coming together in his head. “Wait a second. You mean to tell me this was just a test?”

“What else could it have been?”

“But I thought you needed these for some magic spell or something!”

“Nope,” Yuuri responded, letting the 'p' give a little pop. “ _I_ didn't need them. _You_ needed them, to prove to yourself that you're perfectly capable of catching whatever you set your mind to. Look at all of these. Most would give up on half of these creatures, simply out of frustration, but you managed to capture them all on your own. You'll do a fine job providing for your family.”

JJ shook his head. “But...”

“Surely you realize providing for a family consists of far more than just hunting other creatures for sustenance, right?”

JJ stared off into space for several moments, his expression curiously blank as he let Yuuri's words wash over him. “I don't know how to feel right now. This is honestly the last thing I expected. This whole time...”

Yuuri resisted the urge to sigh. He could feel the other merman resisting his lesson, but no matter. JJ had only accomplished the first half of it, after all. There was still more to learn.

“'Pride' would be an ideal response,” Yuuri offered. “'Relief' would also a good one. But take all the time you need, there's no rush. In the mean time, I'm going to free your catch.”

JJ said nothing while Yuuri did just that, using his tentacles to undo the opening of the net. The fish inside looked like they were lost in a daze, floating through a dream-like state, no doubt because of the elixir he'd gifted JJ with. If there was another point in JJ's favour, it was that the man could follow instructions. And now that Yuuri took a second look, it was clear to anyone that not a single scale on any of the fish were harmed during the hunt; JJ had been determined, but gentle in his way.

 _Go home_ , Yuuri thought as he waved a hand in front of the fish, gently washing his magic over the mismatched school, waving away the magic-induced daze and replacing it instead with the urge to return to where they came from. A moment passed before the change became noticeable, the fish no longer swimming aimlessly but now with purpose. Yuuri increased the opening of the net further, his tentacles holding it wide and open. Before long all of the fish were exiting the net and swimming off in different directions. The last fish inside, a tiny thing barely the size of a closed fist and a brilliant shade of pink, swam lazy circles around Yuuri's head before finally taking off north.

“Good-bye, hard work,” Yuuri heard JJ sigh off to the side.

Yuuri held back an exasperated groan. _Do I need to monologue at you? I feel like I need to monologue at you._ Instead, he loosely rolled up the net and handed it back to the merman, doing his best not to acknowledge the gloomy expression haunting JJ's features. “I know your feelings right now are quite mixed, but you'll feel much better about it after tomorrow.”

JJ looked up from the net in his hands. “Huh? What's tomorrow?”

“ _Tomorrow_ ,” Yuuri emphasized, “you're going to come back here, and together we're enacting phase two of boosting your self-confidence.”

“But I have plenty of self-confidence,” JJ said with a confused frown.

 _A lot of hot air, maybe,_ Yuuri held back from retorting. It was easy to confuse the two sometimes, so Yuuri wouldn't hold it against him. “Well, you'll have even more after tomorrow. Unless you've decided you no longer want my help?”

JJ glanced off to the side, considering. He rolled the net around in his hands. Eventually he answered, “I do. I know I don't sound like it right now, but I do. This is just a lot to take in right now.”

“I understand,” Yuuri said with a nod. “You might not believe me now, but I honestly wasn't trying to trick you or waste your time. Sometimes the best way to express a point is by action. You've seen for yourself all your hard work. You can dispute the facts all you want, but the results are the same no matter what. You still accomplished what you set out to do, with little help from anyone else. You should be proud of yourself, JJ. You did a great job.”

It took a moment, Yuuri unsure of JJ had really listened to him or not, but then JJ let out a breath, and an uncharacteristically petite smile unfurled across his lips. “I did, didn't I? You sure know how to persuade a guy. No wonder you do this for a living.”

Yuuri let the compliment wash off him like water, not putting too much stock into it. All he'd done was talk a few fancy words, after all. JJ had done all of the actual work. “So I'll see you tomorrow evening?”

“Tomorrow,” JJ agreed. He exhaled deeply, rolled his shoulders. No doubt the merman was feeling drained after the last couple of days. “Well! It's been quite the night. Have a good one, Eros. I'll see you tomorrow.” He nodded his head down at Viktor. “And a good one to you too, Your Highness.”

Yuuri waited until JJ had taken off and was on his way before he turned to glance down at the prince, who was still lying on the roof as though he were some lazy boy and not a grown merman. “Well, he's finally gone. Are you done sulking down there or do I have to...”

Yuuri trailed off, not entirely sure what he was seeing... but that wasn't entirely true, if he was being honest with himself.

He saw Viktor staring up at him from below, and there wasn't anything unusual about that, not on the surface. But something about the way the prince was gazing at him had Yuuri tensing, sensing something unspoken beneath the surface. He couldn't put it into words, but there was something about the glint in Viktor's eyes, the soft, admiring curve of his smile, or the slight touch of a pink to his cheeks, all of which gave an impression of Viktor that Yuuri wasn't used to seeing. He didn't look like someone who had just waited out unpleasant company, but more like someone who had witnessed something pleasing and couldn't look away. He looked enamoured.

But... that couldn't be right. What was there to be enamoured with?

( _It's not me_ , Yuuri chastised himself, his mind chanting it over and over again when his heart began to pick up its pace. _It's not me, it's not me, it's not me._ That was impossible. Absurd.

But was that the truth, or just his poor attempt to not get his hopes up?)

“You were far too kind with him,” Viktor said, a touch of wonder to his voice.

Yuuri shook his head. He was only imagining things. Viktor didn't really sound like that. It was just his ears playing tricks on him. “Not really. I treated him like I would anyone else. Ready to retire for the night?”

“Hmm. In a moment.”

Yuuri lifted his brow. “Too lazy to get up now, are you?”

Viktor chuckled. “No. Just enjoying the view.” He crossed his hands beneath his chin and resumed his leisurely posture. “So, what exactly do you have planned for tomorrow?”

Yuuri almost rolled his eyes. Of all things, now Viktor was trying to flirt his way into the shop. “Nice try. Lets go, Your Highness.”

He didn't bother to wait for the prince. Yuuri swam away, barely hiding his smile when he heard the prince call out after him, “Wait a second, I thought we had a deal? It's Viktor, not 'Your Highness.' _Viktor!_ ”


	7. baby, you don't have to live your life in fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Yes, I am posting this on April Fools. I swear this wasn't planned, and no, this isn't a joke chapter. Though you might want to scream at me for a whole other reason by the end of it. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> I'm so glad I split this and the last chapter up now that this one is finished. This would've been a LOT to put into one chapter.
> 
> To anyone who doesn't follow me on tumblr, insta, or twitter, I'll be posting an EXTRA ART PIECE for this chapter over on those accounts! It's just a sketchy little thing, but without really spoiling anything, I'll just say it's a design for Vitya. So if you'd like to see that, feel free to check out any of those accounts to see the extra art~ I'll post direct links to it in the end notes. (Should I do more extra art in the future? Lemme know~)
> 
> Art refs for this chapter are from SenshiStock. Links here:  
> https://www.deviantart.com/senshistock/art/Sailor-Pose-70-69644809  
> https://www.deviantart.com/senshistock/art/Sailor-Pose-66-69608216  
> https://www.deviantart.com/senshistock/art/Sailor-Pose-119-82472791
> 
> Chapter title comes from "Fear and Loathing" by Marina and the Diamonds.
> 
> Links to my sns accounts for those who are interested:
> 
> https://twitter.com/rosereleasesart  
> https://www.instagram.com/rosereleasestheart/  
> http://rosereleasestheart.tumblr.com/

The following evening arrived far sooner than Viktor was mentally and emotionally prepared for.

He _wanted_ to be excited for the coming evening's event – and he was, in a sense. Yuuri had been busy working on something private all week, and Viktor was awfully curious to find out exactly what that was. But the odds of actually seeing it were not in his favour, especially not after his behaviour the night prior. (Gods, the _one_ time he'd given into curiosity since gifting Yuuri the shop, and he was caught. Caught!) Could he blame Yuuri if he ended up more protective his work after that little stunt? Not particularly.

And then... there was JJ.

Just the thought of being near the merman again made Viktor want to curl his nose in distaste.

“ _I want to focus my attention solely on him for the next couple of days,”_ Yuuri had informed him that morning, before they'd entered the dining hall for breakfast. He'd spoken so softly, like he was confessing a long-held secret rather than making an innocuous request. _“Would it be possible to have your guards keep customers at bay until I am finished with him? I'd like to keep interruptions limited.”_

Viktor had agreed, of course. Denying the Sea Witch anything he asked for was just unimaginable. Anything Yuuri needed, he would have.

... Even if the thought of JJ being anywhere near Yuuri made Viktor's stomach turn.

Rationally, he knew the merman wasn't all _that_ bad; he'd behaved well enough upon his last return, kept enough of a respectable distance. Except the moment Viktor found himself thinking that perhaps the merman was perhaps an all right guy, he would immediately remember how he'd found Yuuri after their first meeting almost week ago, and then it felt like Viktor was seeing red all over again.

He'd told Yuuri he was too kind to the merman, but that wasn't quite word for it. 'Too forgiving' would have been more accurate. It was an admirable trait to have in most circumstances but a frustrating one as well, and certainly not a thing Viktor had any right to comment on. After all, could he really complain when Yuuri had also extended that same forgiveness towards him and his own trespasses?

Ah, but to witness Yuuri practice such generosity toward others still made Viktor's insides flutter pleasantly; he felt humbled at Yuuri's professionalism, and so much more in awe of the Sea Witch himself. It made him so much more eager to see _more_ , to see Yuuri actually in action, to know else Yuuri was capable of. Was he like this with everyone, or just the more difficult customers? Oh, the questions he had.

But could he ever earn the right to know the answers?

Viktor glanced at Yuuri out of the corner of his eye. They had been waiting outside the shop for a short while now in companionable silence. Yuuri was quiet and had been for most of the day now that Viktor thought of it, outside of polite conversation when he was spoken to. There wasn't dread or unease etched anywhere on Yuuri's face like Viktor had expected. If anything, the he appeared calm. It occurred to Viktor that perhaps Yuuri was just lost in his own head, but a closer look told him that wasn't the case either. Yuuri's eyes stared ahead on a singular point, watching, fully aware of his surroundings but choosing to ignore it. He seemed... unusually focused.

He'd only seen Yuuri look like this one other time, though he was having a difficult time recalling exactly when. Just what was going on in the other's mind to have an expression like that?

But that train of thought was lost when Yuuri finally broke the silence.

“He's here,” he said.

Viktor took a deep breath. Fantastic.

“I'm baaaaack!” JJ called out from halfway across the garden, picking up speed for that last stretch of water between them. He brought nothing with him this time, just his too large grin and eager disposition, though he did also look far more energized than the day before. “Hope you didn't miss me too much. Did I keep you waiting too long?”

Yuuri smiled up at the merman. “Not at all. We have the whole evening to ourselves. Are you ready to get to work?”

“I'm here, aren't I? Do your worst, Eros.”

“Perfect. This way, then.” Yuuri pushed open the door to his shop, moving back to allow JJ to swim inside. Viktor watched the merman disappear into the shop, only just fighting back the envy writhing deep inside at the thought that JJ could be invited inside so easily.

Viktor turned to leave, but Yuuri's soft voice had him stopping.

“Where are you going?”

Viktor turned back towards him, blinking in confusion. “To go wait elsewhere?”

Yuuri tilted his head. “You're not coming inside?”

“I... was I supposed to?”

Yuuri's fingers traced down the door frame, nails barely scrapping, his eyes cast off to the side. “You don't have to, but... the offer is there if you'd like.”

Was he really hearing this right? He had to be imagining things. He had to be certain he wasn't just hearing what he wanted desperately to hear. Viktor asked, “You'd really like my company? But I thought you preferred privacy.”

A curious expression fell over Yuuri's face, as though the reminder displeased him in some way. “I know what I prefer.” His lips formed a small pout, a look that was both out of place and oddly adorable on his round face. (And yet, unbidden, Viktor's eyes were drawn all the same to the shine of his silver lipstick, to how full and plump the flesh looked.)

“Besides,” Yuuri added, snapping Viktor's attention back to the present, “you'll just try and sneak a peak through the roof again, anyway. Correct?”

“Well...”

Yuuri huffed. “Just get in here before I change my mind.”

Viktor _beamed_. Without further protest he swam past Yuuri and into the shop, not even trying to hide the giddiness coursing through him. He was inside! He was actually _invited in!_ Whatever plans Yuuri had, he was allowed to witness them!

(A voice in his head whispered that, more than likely, it was just because Yuuri didn't feel comfortable enough being alone with JJ and wanted a buffer between them, but Viktor wasn't about to complain. If Yuuri wanted someone to guard him, then he'd gladly do so whenever asked.)

Yuuri closed the shop door behind him, sealing them off from the rest of the ocean, and when he turned to face them he looked exactly like Viktor imagined he would while dealing with a customer. Every bit as proper, mysterious, and undoubtedly alluring.

“I'd like for the both of you to take a seat.”

While they did so, Yuuri lifted the cauldron at the center of the room with several of his tentacles and moved it off to the side. Viktor's brow raised the sight. _Wow._ It had taken several merfolk to lift that cauldron and move it to the shop when they'd been redesigning the place, and Yuuri had done it _all by myself_ without showing an ounce of discomfort or shakiness. Viktor briefly recalled Yuuri offhandedly mentioning his strength not that long ago (and getting so adorably flustered when he'd realized what he'd implied about himself). It hadn't looked like any magic was used, either. Just what else could Yuuri do alone with his body? Viktor's cheeks warmed as he tried to imagine all the possibilities.

“JJ,” Yuuri said, “if I may ask, how exactly did you propose to your _fiancée_?”

“Oh, you should've seen it!” JJ replied, smiling fondly at the memory. “I planned an entire day for it. I got our closest friends involved, and I set up this massive treasure hunt for her to do. I hid a bunch of small gifts I'd given her. They were from the best dates we'd had during our courtship, starting from from the last one leading all the way back to the very first. We even relived a few dates along the way. Like this one date we had, we saw a live singer and dancing troupe. I managed to get them to come back and perform for us. You should have seen Isabella's face, she _loves_ that sort of thing.”

Yuuri smiled patiently at his customer. “Sounds like a great time.”

“I know, right?”

“Mmn. It also sounds like you relied on everything else but yourself to impress her leading up to you popping the question. Would you say that's correct?”

JJ frowned. “Does it really come across like that? I thought I did a pretty great job. Isabella thought so, too. She couldn't stop talking about it for days.”

“It's not a bad thing,” Yuuri assured him. “And I'm sure you impressed her plenty. But we've established you have a bit of a confidence issue.”

“I don't know if I'd used the word 'established,'” JJ murmured, looking unconvinced as usual.

 _We're going to be here all night_ , Viktor thought with a quiet sigh. Hopefully JJ didn't waste their time arguing semantics.

Yuuri shrugged. “You don't necessarily have to agree with me, I'm just giving you my impression of the situation. In any case, I came up with something that I think will help boost your confidence. It relies on nothing but you and the effort you put into it. Tell me, how do you feel about dancing?”

Viktor perked up in his seat. Dancing?

JJ shrugged. “I like it? I like dancing with Isabella a lot. Does that count?”

“Well, you could always dance with her afterwards,” Yuuri said patiently, “but my idea is more of a solo performance. It's equal parts showing off and wooing. I know it's not a common means of proposal among your kind, but it's very effective with mine.”

 _Yes, please!_ Viktor thought. Could they start right away? He'd like it very much if they started right away.

JJ hummed quietly, a pensive look on his face. “And you think it would help me feel... I dunno. Secure?”

“I think you already have everything you need to be a good husband. The issue is convincing yourself that you, alone, are enough.” Yuuri swam closer, hands linked casually behind his back. He leaned in, almost coyly, and said with half-lidded eyes, “Come on now, don't tell me you're not already an expert at showing your stuff off. That's hardly work for someone like you.”

JJ's leaned back in his seat, eyes flicking nervously up and down Yuuri's body. “Uh...”

“You come from a pretty well-off family, don't you. Perhaps you had plenty of pretty things to show off or gift away, things that merfolk would love to be surrounded by. I'm sure your family made certain you were properly educated and trained in many skills, as well. You're a talented enough hunter, there's must be plenty of other things you're skilled in as well. And they were all things you used to keep your admirers close to you. Merfolk _love_ being in the presence of someone impressive, don't they?”

JJ swallowed thickly, tried to lean further back but found himself pressed firmly back against the back of his chair.

Yuuri hummed. “But... there's always someone better, isn't there?”

And, unspoken, hanging in the water between them, the unasked question: _And it's only a matter of time before she notices someone else, isn't it?_

Seconds ticked by, JJ practically pinned to the back of his seat from the weight of Yuuri's ceaseless and unwavering stare.

Yuuri finally relented when he pulled back. “Or maybe that's just the impression you give off. I could be completely wrong.”

“M-Maybe,” JJ murmured.

“Maybe,” Yuuri echoed, though something in his tone made it clear there was no 'maybe' about it. “In any case, I want you to remember something while we work. Do you think you can do that?”

“Sure?”

“Remember that _she chose you._ She said _yes,_ and that means something, whether you realize it or not. All right?”

“... All right,” JJ agreed, slowly righting himself up in his seat. “But I have a question. How exactly is dancing supposed to help me? That's just another way of showing off, isn't it?”

“Yes, but those other skills serve others. You hunt to feed yourself and your family, for example. Dancing, on the other hand, is pure expression. It exists for that and pleasure alone. I'm going to teach you how to express yourself and your feelings to your loved one.”

“But if you choreographed it, then how exactly is it my feelings?”

Yuuri briefly glanced at Viktor, a flash of exasperation in his eyes before his expression was quickly schooled into something more neutral. “Because we're going to make changes along the way to suit your needs. What I'm going to show you is just the foundation for it. Any _more_ questions?”

“Uh, no,” JJ wisely answered.

“Good.” Satisfied that JJ had nothing else to say, Yuuri went over to the side of the room, where Viktor realized now existed one of the drums the musicians in his court used during banquets, performances, and some of the more festive dinners they occasionally held. Viktor recalled Yuuri talking at length with the guards that morning, but he'd assumed it had only been about customers for the foreseeable future. Yuuri must have gotten one of them to retrieve the drum for his personal use.

Yuuri passed a hand over the smooth drum skin. At first Viktor thought he was testing out the surface, but then the skin began to glow a faint silver. Before the glow could dissipate, Yuuri beat out an enticing rhythm with both hands, stopping seconds before the glow was gone. But the music did not stop when the glow disappeared. The drum continued to play the rhythm on repeat, without the need for anyone else to continue beating the drum.

Viktor moved to the edge of his seat, hands clasped tightly in his lap.

Yuuri took to the center of the room, his body already swaying to the seductive beat coming from the drum. He assumed an opening pose, arms crossed loosely over one another on his chest. His head tilted downwards, but he looked up at the two of them through half-lidded eyes. Viktor became painfully aware of how long and lush and dark Yuuri's eyelashes were, how they perfectly lined his sultry brown eyes.

“Now,” Yuuri spoke, voice low, barely a murmur. “Watch closely.”

Viktor's breath caught in his throat as Yuuri slowly parted his arms and moved them through the water, slow and smooth, reaching high above his head, before reigning his hands back in and dragging them down along the line of his body. As he did so, his body slowly began to gyrate, hips rocking back and forth, every inch of his body in sync from the tips of his fingers all the way down to the ends of his tentacles. They curled and flowed around each other in a way that appeared complex and yet so natural, like they were meant for this.

Viktor's eyes followed closely, only a hint of shame at the back of his mind for ogling the Sea Witch so obviously. But there was no way Yuuri could have noticed: in the moment his eyes were closed, head tipped back, body perfectly arched. For a brief moment, Viktor was given the distinct mental image of someone lost in the throes of pleasure.

Viktor bit his lip.

Yuuri spun, tentacles spreading elegantly all about him, and when he opened his eyes again it was to cast the two of them with a carnal look over his shoulder.

Viktor swallowed, his throat suddenly feeling very, _very_ tight.

Although he watched closely, Viktor couldn't recall the last move Yuuri made as the Sea Witch moved swiftly onto the next. He was too lost in the display before him to focus on anything but the here and now, on the sweep of dark lashes across Yuuri's fair cheek, on the roll and curl of his dark tentacles, on the bend of Yuuri's back as he burst upwards and spun upside down in the water, only to right himself again. But Viktor suspected that the haze was part of its design. In a dance to seduce and express ones innermost desires, to maintain any coherent thought throughout would mean failure.

In the middle of a spin, Yuuri cast a sharp look in their direction. “ _Keep watching_ ,” he commanded. It was then that Viktor realized JJ had slumped in his seat, hands gripping the sides, eyes cheeks scarlet, looking exactly five seconds away from covering his face.

 _Fool_ , Viktor thought. How could anyone look away from this?

But then again, watching Yuuri dance was both pleasurable and torturous in its own way.

Watching him brought back the phantom touch of his body against Viktor's hands, his body, the memory of the way he'd spun in his arms, momentarily apart before coming together again in a flush of skin against skin. He remembered the tender, sweetness of it when they'd danced alone, outside of the castle. How flattered he'd felt that Yuuri would want to dance with him without onlookers, without music or ambience. _'Dancing is an expression,'_ Yuuri had said moments ago, and gods, how true that had true at that time. Their dancing then had felt like a deep confession, like a desperate plea.

(Had Yuuri been making the same confession as him, that night? _“Are you lonely as well?”_ he couldn't bring himself to ask.

And the way Yuuri had cupped his face and stared deep into his eyes...

“ _Please, don't go away. Stay close to me.”_

 _Oh,_ Viktor thought, suddenly breathless.

 _That_ was where he'd seen that expression before.

Viktor's hands rose upward, fingertips just gracing his lips as his heart thudded violently in his chest.)

And then Viktor blinked and something in the room had suddenly shifted.

Though Yuuri's body still moved in its fluid way, there was less gyrating to the beat, less focus on his hips and shoulders. They were replaced instead with more careful and deliberate motions of his hands and artful little spins of his body. A small, secure smile graced Yuuri's plush lips as he continued to move artfully to the beat. He didn't move like a lone merman with the aim of enticing the helpless viewer, but more like there were now invisible arms wrapped around him, guiding him effortlessly through the water.

The dance half over, a simple narrative began to form in Viktor's head: a merman displays his most sensual side to a suitor, intending to reel them in with promises of joy and ecstasy. The moment the suitor accepts the offering, peace and contentment washes over the merman, and he rejoices in the shared bliss that is to come.

Before Viktor realized it, the dance was over. The final pose had Yuuri curling his arms back in towards his body once more, but something about the pose now felt protective. The arms weren't in place wall someone off, but to keep them close. The drum continued to play, but it went ignored as the Sea Witch panted softly to himself.

Viktor immediately slipped off of his seat and began to clap profusely. “Bravo! That was beautiful! Amazing! Astounding! _Stunning!_ ”

(A faint touch of blue hued Yuuri's cheeks at that, but the Sea Witch said nothing.)

Beside him, JJ ran the one hand not gripping his seat through his short hair. “I'm supposed to do _that?_ ”

Yuuri fell out of the finishing pose, brow arched. “Don't think you can handle it?”

“I never said I couldn't _._ I just wasn't expecting something like that!”

Yuuri shrugged a shoulder. “Like I said earlier, that was just the foundation. We can change whatever you feel needs an alteration.”

Viktor spoke up then, actually acknowledging the merman beside him. _Someone_ had to say something. “If you're smart, you won't change a thing,” he advised. “Nothing will seduce your _fiancée_ more than that, I assure you. Anyone would feel amazing performing something like that for the one they love.”

JJ's finger stroked his chin as he processed the advice. “Well, I doubt I could think of anything more... intense than that. It's not really my _usual_ style, you know what I mean?”

A patient expression graced Yuuri's features. “I figured as much. You don't have to worry, changes will come naturally. No sense in forcing it now before you've even attempted the dance.” Yuuri held out his hand and curled his fingers inward. “Ready to begin?”

JJ chanced a glance at Viktor, brow knit together as though he still had doubts. With a nod of his head, Viktor motioned for JJ to hurry up and join Yuuri while the evening was still young.

JJ nodded, more so to himself than anyone else. “All right. Lets get right to it. You'd better be ready for me, Eros! I'm gonna bring it tonight!”

Viktor reclaimed his seat while JJ joined Yuuri, tail swishing back and forth while the two in front of him quietly conversed, Yuuri demonstrating the opening position and waiting for JJ to mimic.

Viktor would be lying if he said he didn't feel some envy towards JJ for getting to dance (in a way) with Yuuri, and would be doing so until the routine had been mastered. But he was also at thankful he got to watch it all unfold before him. And with any luck, he'd have the welcome joy of watching Yuuri perform the dance many, many more times before his time with JJ was through.

 

-

 

Hours passed and they had made a pretty good dent in the work needed to master the routine.

Small portions of the dance had been memorized, namely the start, end, and a section near the middle, but JJ's movement felt stiff in comparison to how Yuuri performed them, and transitions between moves felt stilted at best. JJ had a bad habit of thrusting his motions, imitating power more so than grace, which was perhaps to be expected from someone who hunted more so than danced. Viktor kept the observation to himself though, not wanting to interrupt Yuuri or assert any authority while being a guest in his space. He could bring it up later in private, if needed. He was more than certain that Yuuri had noticed on his own, though.

Despite the constant struggle for finesse, every time Yuuri suggested that they stop for the night, JJ would shake his head and say with purpose in his voice, “Just one more time.”

By the time they were actually finished for the night, JJ looked far more stressed than he had when they'd started. In spite of himself, Viktor couldn't help but find himself sympathizing and even rooting for JJ to succeed. The merman was certainly earning his redemption in his eyes, slowly but surely, and not only because of the effort he was genuinely putting into the routine. In Viktor's eyes, the most important part was that _not once_ had JJ snapped at Yuuri or made excuses when he hadn't done as well as he would have liked; he'd worked himself hard, and he'd done it with all the respect and discipline one would expect of an eager student.

Yuuri opened the door but halted JJ before the merman could leave. “Don't get too down on yourself. I had a week to practice this, and I do things like this for a living. You're doing very well for someone who is just learning. I know this isn't the sort of dancing you're used to, but you'll get there.”

JJ made a small noise and ran a hand over his face. “Thanks. I'm doing my best, I swear. It almost makes me wish I was more like you. I know you said changing myself wouldn't solve anything, but it'd be super helpful if I could just magically give myself tentacles or something. Maybe then I'd look less rigid.” He laughed to himself. “Or maybe that'd just mean even more stiff limbs for me to fight with.”

Yuuri laughed as well, but something about it sounded off to Viktor's ears, almost uncomfortable. “Maybe. Now, go rest up for tomorrow. And don't practice at all until you come back here. I don't want you pulling a muscle because you overworked yourself, or accidentally learning the wrong moves.”

JJ held up two fingers, crossed together. “I won't, I promise. See you tomorrow?”

“Same time. Good night, JJ.”

Viktor waited until the merman was gone before he got up from his seat and stretched. “That went a lot better than I expected it to,” he confessed.

Yuuri leaned back against the door-frame and let out a small exhale. “He's a little rough around the edges, but he's definitely got something there. We'll smooth it out in no time.”

Viktor hummed in agreement. “If you don't mind my asking, who taught you to dance like that?”

Yuuri bit his bottom lip. After a moment he replied, “My mentors.”

“You had more than one?” That wasn't very common. Viktor didn't know much about Sea Witches outside of what Phichit had explained to him not long ago, but he did know that most stuck with one mentor throughout their training, sometimes even after their training was “officially” complete. It wasn't necessarily frowned upon to switch mentors part-way, but it was considered out of the ordinary.

Yuuri shrugged, suddenly very, very quiet. Noticing that the drum was still playing, he swam over to it and swiped his hand over the top, silencing it for the night.

“The way you danced tonight...” Viktor paused when Yuuri glanced at him over his shoulder, not entirely sure how to read the Sea Witch's stillness, but something in Viktor told him to keep going. He didn't want to hide anything from him, and he got the distinct impression that maybe Yuuri needed to hear some praise after a long night of work. “I'm very impressed. You should be very proud of what you've accomplished tonight. For this whole week, really. You're quite remarkable.”

Yuuri glanced away, eyes downcast. He said nothing.

Viktor opened his mouth to ask more about Yuuri's mentors, maybe even find out if he knew of them, when out of nowhere something rumbled loudly in the silence between them.

Viktor blinked. “Was that...”

Yuuri slapped a hand over his face. “Oh, gods. _Yes_ , that was my stomach. I guess I must have worked up an appetite with all of that dancing.” He peeked through his fingers to shoot a glare down at his traitorous body.

Viktor couldn't help but chuckle. _How_ _cute_. “No need to apologize. I noticed you didn't eat much at dinner today. It's only natural that your body would be so hungry now.” He clapped his hands together, an idea springing to mind. “Lets go eat right now! I'm sure the kitchens will have something for you to munch on. Unless there's something else you needed to do tonight?”

Yuuri lowered his hand. “No, not really,” he sighed. “I'm _starving_. I feel like I could eat a whole whale right about now.”

Viktor tapped his finger against his lip. “Hmm, I think we're a little short on whale, but there's bound to be something else that will satisfy just as much,” he teased. “Come, allow me to escort you to the dining hall.”

At first it seemed that Yuuri was about to protest – what did he have against Viktor escorting him anywhere? - but after another sigh he relented, closing the shop door behind them and following Viktor back into the castle. By that point in the evening, most had already retired to bed. They passed only a handful of servants and guards along the way. Viktor greeted them all cheerfully, but Yuuri only nodded his head at them.

Viktor frowned to himself, unable to pinpoint when or why exactly Yuuri's mood had dipped when the evening had gone so well. Hmm. Perhaps he was just that tired?

Upon reaching the dining hall, Viktor flagged down a servant and inquired about any leftover food from the day. The servant bowed and agreed to go check the kitchens, insisting that they take a seat and await their return. They did so, Viktor taking his usual seat at the table, while Yuuri opted to sit across from him. His eyes remained downcast, his hands fidgeting with themselves beneath the table.

Viktor rested his chin on his hands, head tilted as he studied the Sea Witch over. A distraction, maybe? “I don't know if you know this, but I dance as well,” he said. “I perform at every banquet. Or almost every banquet. I, ah, skipped the last one.”

“I know,” Yuuri answered without hesitation.

Viktor stilled, heart beating wild in his chest as he wondered if Yuuri was possibly referring to their time spent together at the last banquet. Could he be, was he now...? But, no. Nothing about the Sea Witch suggested that he was confessing anything. For such an anxious creature, Yuuri looked fairly collect and calm. So he meant that he knew of his dancing, then.

“Of course you do,” Viktor said, masking his disappointment with a small smile. “I'd be surprised if anyone here didn't know that about me. I've been dancing my whole life.” He traced a finger on the table in aimless circles, memories of his childhood resurfacing from the depths of his heart. The days he'd spent with Lilia, learning under her tutelage... it'd been a much simpler time. Maybe it was due to his age and naivety, but Lilia had seemed much happier back then, the stern lines on her face so much less severe. Yakov had even made time back then to come watch him practice, often offering his own observations. Sometimes they would dance with him, and on the odd occasion they would even reenact the dance they'd shared at their wedding.

Viktor _loved_ to dance. Loved the reactions he could inspire in those who watched him, loved sharing such a simple joy with others. Nothing warmed him like the way others clapped and smiled after a performance.

Or at least, it had used to.

Somewhere along the way, the beauty and passion of each movement had transformed itself into something more like... work. The movements had become empty. The place he pulled his inspiration from had ran completely dry and there was no squeezing anything more out of it, no matter how hard he wrung it, _desperately_ , for even just one drop more.

It had been around that time, that realization, that Viktor had begun to notice how separate he and his audience truly were. The space between them was large and yawning and only ever growing as time passed. He danced alone, always alone, and they watched, so many of them crammed into the royal theatre that it was hard to think of the entirety of them as anything distinct. Even the sounds of cheering and clapping merged into something indecipherable and cacophonous. There was a time when the overwhelming cheers excited him, gave him a needed burst of energy to perform, but it seemed that time had passed.

When had it all become so tiring?

(When had Lilia and Yakov stopped watching. When had they stopped smiling?)

“But you're not from here,” Viktor continued, his smile falling, “so you've probably never seen me properly perform.” Funny how joyless it all seemed, and yet the thought of Yuuri never seeing him at his best still bothered him.

Yuuri bit his lips. “I have,” he answered again.

Viktor looked up from the table, frowning. “You have?” But he would've remembered someone like Yuuri in the audience, wouldn't he? How could he not, someone like him surely wouldn't blend in. Had the disconnect really gotten that bad? Unless Yuuri hadn't appeared as himself at that time. “When exactly was this?”

“Uh, years ago.” Yuuri squinted his eyes, thinking. “It was your sixteenth birthday, I think. You were dressed in black and...”

“And silver,” Viktor finished for him. It was coming back to him now: the long, sheer black fabric, which had been a gift from Christophe from one of his many travels. Viktor and his servants had carefully cut and designed it to crisscross over his then-smaller form and arms, long strips of it flowing long and free from his body. Embedded in the fabric were many tiny silver jewels, glittering under the harsh spotlight of the theatre.

And then there was the dance he'd woven out of the haunting beauty of that design, calculated so that every move, every gesture, was slow and deliberate, yet perfectly timed. He'd likened the whole scenario to a “dark” and unforgettable jellyfish. Beautiful to look at from afar, but it was a poor decision to approach and, worse yet, touch.

“Oh, gods. That old get-up. I remember now. That feels like forever ago.” Viktor laughed softly to himself, tickled pink at how audacious he'd been back then. He'd never really spoken about his decision back then, funnily enough, but looking at Yuuri now... he wanted to.

“Hey. Do you want to know a secret?”

“Sure?” Yuuri answered uncertainly.

“That costume was _entirely_ out of spite.” Viktor smiled at the memory. How angry he'd been, at that time, and how empowered he'd felt by wearing it, even though things had ended the way they did afterwards. “I was being courted by this cute boy at the time. I'd thought things were going well until he decided he didn't like that I had long hair or wore jewellery. He said I'd be perfect if I were more masculine. He wanted me to be more serious and 'mature,' whatever that means.”

A line appeared between Yuuri's brow, and he said in a flat voice, “What?”

“Mm. We hadn't been getting along for a good month or so by that point, and I was getting sick of his constant comments. The fall banquet was approaching, so I said to him, 'okay, let me show you what I'm capable of.' My servants and I ended up creating that little piece. Black is a 'mature' colour, so he might have been happy with that, if I hadn't worn _twice_ the normal amount of jewellery that I usually did. If that wasn't bad enough for him, the dance I performed that time was a blend of feminine _and_ masculine styles. Kind of like what you did tonight, only nowhere near as sexy.” He winked. “And everyone _loved_ it. Everyone but him.”

Yuuri covered his mouth, only just catching the beginning of a laugh. “I never imagined that was the reason.”

Viktor couldn't help but smile wider, delighted at the sweet sound of Yuuri's laughter, even if it was stifled before it could really begin. “I remember everyone kept asking me for my inspiration, but I decided to keep that particular secret close to me. Only my servants and I know. And now you.”

Yuuri shimmied in his seat. “You – you really didn't have to tell me. Especially something so personal.”

“I wanted to,” Viktor reassured him. “It doesn't bother me, I promise. It's just a little story now. The poor boy moved far away not too long after that anyway, so it's not as if he's here to be embarrassed by his poor behaviour.”

Yuuri lifted his eyes from the table, briefly meeting Viktor's, before immediately dropping them again. Viktor was about to ask the Sea Witch what was on his mind when Yuuri said, “I, um. Kind of have a secret too.”

Carefully, Viktor remained still in his seat.

But instead of the actual confession he expected, Yuuri said, “How much do you know about the kind of training a Sea Witch has to do?”

“Not much,” he confessed. Phichit hadn't exactly gone over that particular aspect in too much detail. “I know it takes years. You travel all over, experience as much of the ocean as you can while you learn. You aid your mentor with their work until they've decided you're capable of going it alone. Correct?”

Yuuri nodded. “And do you know the symbol we bear on our bodies to signify the completion of our training?”

Viktor kept his stare level, not daring to dip his gaze any lower to study Yuuri's form. If there was anything about Sea Witches he knew before his little crash course with Phichit, it was the most obvious component. “Your tattoos, yes?”

Yuuri nodded again, eyes still avoiding Viktor's lingering attention. He took a deep breath and then placed his hands on the table, pushing himself upwards so that he rose from his seat. Quietly, he asked, “does anything look familiar about my tattoos to you?”

At first Viktor wasn't sure what to think. Were they supposed to be familiar? He finally allowed himself to study the tattoos in question, and with the previous conversation fresh in mind, he instantly connected the dots.

“Black and silver,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone else. “You...”

“You looked so confident, when I saw you,” Yuuri said. “I only saw you perform the one time, but I couldn't forget it.” A soft chuckled escaped him. “It sounds silly, but I remember thinking you looked like the night sky, just from the way the jewels on your fabric twinkled under the lights. And the way you danced, it felt just as infinite.”

“'Night sky'?” Viktor repeated, confused. He'd never heard such a phrase before. His mind conjured up nothing at its mention.

Yuuri's hand cupped his cheek as a small, nervous laugh escaped him. “It's, uh. Gods, I don't know how to explain it. It's big and dark and full of shiny dots called stars?”

Well, if Viktor knew nothing about what a 'night sky' was before, he certainly knew even less now. “'Stars'?” he echoed.

Yuuri sighed. “I'm sorry, I'm doing a bad joke describing it. I'd conjure something up to show you, but I'm honestly a little too tired to even try. I doubt it would even come close to the real thing, anyway.”

“That's all right,” Viktor replied honestly. It was hard to be disappointed about something he couldn't imagine – it wasn't like hew understood what he was missing out on. If anything, it was just one more thing about the world he hadn't yet experienced. “Don't push yourself too hard, not for my sake.”

Yuuri looked like he wanted to say something else, but a moment later the servant from before returned with several skewers in hand, each one of them stuffed from beginning to end with finely chopped sections of fish. Yuuri silently sat back down and accepted the offered skewers with a quiet “thank you.” Viktor did the same as he was given his share. He hadn't felt particularly hungry before, but now that the food was here, he was beginning to feel the stirring of hunger in his stomach.

For a short while, they enjoyed their food in relative quiet.

Viktor waited until Yuuri had gone through one skewer and had begun to nibble on the second when he said, “I never would have thought something like that old get-up would inspire someone like you so many years later. I hardly even think about that one anymore. There's been too many routines, I suppose.”

It took a moment for recognition to flash in Yuuri's eyes, but once it did, he hurriedly swallowed his food and answered, “Well, uh. It definitely left its mark. I hope you... you don't mind, do you?”

Viktor clapped his hands together. “Not at all! I'm very, very flattered. It's almost as if teenage me lives on, in a whole new legacy. Though you do far, far more important work than I ever did at that age. So if anything, I'd say you've surpassed me in your own way.”

Yuuri froze mid-bite and, slowly, as if changing his mind, lowered his skewer. “Ah. Yeah.”

A minute passed in silence, followed by several more, with Yuuri staring heavily down at the table, frozen in place.

It didn't take long for Viktor to notice that something had gone wrong again; this was the second time that evening Yuuri's mood had taken such a dive. What was he to do or say to rectify that? Viktor felt powerless, sitting there and watching the Sea Witch brood in silence.

Viktor opened his mouth to speak, but Yuuri cut him off.

“I'm a fraud.”

He stated it like it was undeniable fact, and yet despite the implications, the corner of Yuuri's mouth had lifted, and he looked seconds away from breaking out into laughter.

Viktor frowned, confused. “Eros?”

“I'm _such_ a hypocrite,” Yuuri continued, laughing now, though the sound held no amusement. “I've surpassed you? I do important work? The thought is just _laughable_.”

“I don't understand where this is coming from,” Viktor said, at a complete loss.

Yuuri's head fell into his hands, body slumping forward on the table as though in a protective curl. Though his words were muffled, Viktor was just able to make out them out. He was talking, but it certainly wasn't directed at anyone. “What was I _thinking?_ Lecturing him not to change himself for another, telling him it's not the answer, when...”

 _When you've done exactly that in the past?_ Viktor almost said, but he held it back, forced the curiosity at bay. Something inside told him that now was not the time to inquire, not when Yuuri sounded so... defeated. Whatever the reasons, they didn't matter at the moment.

“Is this about JJ?” Viktor chanced. Yuuri didn't respond, so he kept talking. “If it is, there's no need to beat yourself up over how you've handled him. I know it must have been nerve-racking when he came back, but it went well, didn't it? You've worked hard all week and it really shows.”

Yuuri said nothing.

Was Yuuri even listening? Something about the Sea Witch being so lost in his own head that he wasn't even listening was frustrating. Viktor rose from his seat, skewer long forgotten, and leaned across the table.

“You didn't have to offer him help,” he continued, voice hushed on the low chance a servant may be nearby. He wanted this to be for Yuuri's ears only. “There's no rule saying you must help everyone who comes. You could have turned him away and called it a day. But you didn't. You're doing everything you can to improve his quality of life, even after he hurt you so badly the first time he arrived. Something in you pushes you to do better, _be_ better, no matter what. That's _admirable_. _You're_ admirable.”

Slowly, hesitantly, Yuuri lifted his head. But if Viktor expected for him to look up at him with wonder and awe, to have had an epiphany that he was a stronger creature than he took for granted, well, then he expected wrong, because what fell out of Yuuri's mouth wasn't gratitude, but instead a flat statement.

“I don't know how you can say that. You barely even know me.”

And just like that, Viktor felt his heart shatter into thousands of pieces, as though the poor thing were a delicate shell _crushed_ under the weight of something so much larger and stronger than it. Viktor bit his lip, his heart pounding in his throat, his ears. How could five words _hurt so much?_

... But was he wrong?

Looking at him, he always thought of him as Yuuri – his sweet, gentle Yuuri. But out loud, the name in his mouth was always “Eros,” and Eros was... a different creature. Maybe not entirely, but certainly enough so to distinguish the two, even if Viktor swore that sometimes the two blended together on occasion. But even after several weeks spent together, Viktor wasn't any closer to deciding on which version, if either, was the being he'd really chased after.

(But did it matter?)

“Perhaps,” he whispered back, not disguising the hurt in his voice. How could he even begin to hide something so strong, so obvious?

Yuuri tensed up and he dropped his gaze to the table, his cheeks flushing. “I'm sorry. That was – that was completely uncalled for. I shouldn't have said that.”

“Not entirely,” Viktor disagreed, voice carefully calm in spite of himself. He pushed himself upright, tucked some loose hair behind his ear before it could billow in front of his view of Yuuri. “I mean... I _don't_ know you. Not very well. I know your favourite colour is blue? Is that it? I'm sure there's more, but they're small, inconsequential things, aren't they? I don't know anything about your home, your friends, your past partners, your hopes and dreams...”

Yuuri bit his lip, eyes still glued to the table.

Gods, Viktor felt so _stupid._

Chasing so hard after something as beautiful yet intangible as a dream. Still chasing, deep down in his heart.

It wasn't fair of him to keep wanting, not like this. It wasn't fair of him to be so complicit in Yuuri's stay at the castle either, out of selfishness and fear. And yet, even knowing that, there was no denying how he felt, how he wanted _so badly_.

But he was a prince, and that meant acting like one. He had a duty to his subjects, even if he didn't think of Yuuri as such. An equal, more like. And he deserved to be living his life freely, happily, wherever that happened to take him.

Viktor sighed inwardly. “Despite us being, at best, acquaintances, I would argue that I don't need to know every minute detail about you to care about you, and wish you well.” He closed his eyes for a moment to gather his wits. He'd need it very, very soon. “Are you finished with your meal?”

“Ah... yes.”

“Good.” Lips pulled back into something like a smile, he said, “Come, then. We're going to go talk to Lilia and Yakov now.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oOPSIE DOOPSIE ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> EXTRA ART LINKS:
> 
>  http://rosereleasestheart.tumblr.com/post/183873461045/chapter-7-bonus-art-this-is-sixteen-year-old
> 
> https://twitter.com/rosereleasesart/status/1112802295937290240
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/p/BvuaoEaAGTJ/
> 
>  
> 
> feel free to come scream about merbabies with me, I'm always down for roasting these oblivious, love-struck idiots


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